<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>the space between here and there by haekass</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24264970">the space between here and there</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/haekass/pseuds/haekass'>haekass</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>among the stars [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Super Junior, Super Junior-M, f(x)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(yes I promise), Aromantic Mitora, Asexual Character, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Established Eunhae, Established Relationship, F/M, Found Family, Genetic Engineering, Happy Ending, Heteronormativity, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Lots of it, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Grayness, Multi, Murderers, Shameless Smut, Slavery, Very Gleeful and Gory Murder, also historical people mentioned, also not nice things have happened before, and others to be added, and people get off on said murder, bc eunhae, because author is a history nerd, genetic modifications, like a total overhaul, much physical affection, probably a lot more than healthy, some handwaving has happened, they're touchy feely cuddlers, this is a rewrite, various mental issues like anxiety</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:14:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>112,113</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24264970</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/haekass/pseuds/haekass</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since he'd been launched across the galaxy six years ago, he'd always thought it would be nice to see Earth again before he died. But he'd always thought that it was nothing more than a dream. He'd made friends and enemies, found love, acquired a new family among former prisoners and exiles, and increased the bounty on his capture. Then, in as much an accident as what had shot him across the galaxy in the first place, they found Earth.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lee Donghae/Lee Hyukjae | Eunhyuk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>among the stars [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Paradise Lost</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>so this may look familiar, and that's because it is. I began editing heavily/rewriting this beast last October to make it more up to my standards and to make it flow better. Pretty much everything from chapter 2 on has been completely rewritten to the point it makes me wonder if it's even the same story. I am so incredibly nervous about this, but it's time to start sharing (so I can get to the *ahem* ateez spinoff) this with everyone. Updates will happen about every 3 weeks or so.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Six years ago:</p><p> </p><p>“ISS, <em>Pioneer</em>, I’m breaking free of your orbit. Get safe.” Hyukjae nudged the thrusters, slowly creeping his ship away from the space station.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Pioneer</em>, ISS, safe journey. We are heading into the shielded area now. Mission Control has contact.”</p><p> </p><p>“Acknowledged,” Hyukjae replied absently as he watched the readouts. “Mission Control, <em>Pioneer</em>, I’m powering up the engines. What’s the latest on the weather?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Pioneer</em>, weather is green and optimal. The first CME will pass at your apogee.”</p><p> </p><p>“Copy Mission Control, I’m increasing orbit outside the first belt.”</p><p> </p><p>“Roger <em>Pioneer</em>, radio silence for six minutes while we shut down for the CME, will await next contact after experiment.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae turned on the main engines to boost his orbit outside the inner Van Allen radiation belt in preparation for the coronal mass ejection that was about to slam directly into Earth’s magnetosphere, having been released barely twenty hours before. He’d been incredibly lucky that he’d finished his degree and started working through the complex mathematics and design challenges of creating and focusing energy while the Sun’s activity was relatively quiet during a solar minimum. He’d sweet talked and begged and pleaded for the funding to get his <em>Pioneer</em> project off the ground. Strangely, it seemed that no one wanted to sink money into an experiment with no concrete date that it could be completed, or even if it could work. When he finally got someone to fund it, it had taken him many, many long nights to get the design finalized, and then far more late nights designing the circuitry to make sure it wouldn’t turn into slag when it was exposed to such energetic particles.</p><p> </p><p>Checking the time, he took a deep breath and slowly let it out. The view of Earth was slightly distorted from the multiple layers of plastic and glass that gave him the only window outside, but the rest of the craft was shielded so heavily to protect his body from the intense radiation of the experiment that he couldn’t add more.</p><p> </p><p>At three minutes, the small kitchen timer he had installed near his seat dinged. Firing all thrusters, he was grateful for the reduced gravity that let him accelerate much faster than he ever could on Earth, and he watched the gauges with only brief glimpses out of the window as he accelerated around the planet.</p><p> </p><p>Rounding Earth, the only way he could actually tell that the coronal mass ejection had passed him was the instrumentation recording the energy output and the circuitry attempting to focus the incredible power into something useable.</p><p> </p><p>He nearly screamed in delight as he saw the waves of distortion appear at exactly the distance he had worked out. Taking a deep breath, he tried to force away the thoughts of having grant money for literally the rest of his career and possibly beyond. Staring out the window, the forcibly created wormhole exploded in a rainbow of colors, and Hyukjae breathed in as he realized that he was actually seeing was his life’s work; all of his theories confirmed with undeniable proof that would hold up to even the strictest peer review.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at the gauges again, checking both his levels of exposure to radiation and the time until the next wave. The second wave of the CME would make or break the wormhole and it was released a mere fifteen seconds after the first. A true Carrington Event level mass ejection, and one of the few things available that would provide the immense power needed. He smiled as the second wave arrived just as predicted and the gauges in <em>Pioneer</em> maxed out. A high-pitched whine coming from over his shoulder made him reflexively turn to look, his fingers nudging the flight control just enough to noticeably jerk.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>.” He twisted back around to see which direction he’d nudged himself in so he could right the flight path just as everything electronic brightened, then went dark. Swearing inventively in a mixture of Korean and English, he leaned over to flip the circuit breakers so he could restart the electronics. A worrying crackle started behind him, but he couldn’t turn to look what it was, he needed to get back on his carefully mapped path so he wouldn’t be fried by radiation or flung towards the outer solar system. Moving as fast as he could in a bulky suit and in a confined space, he frantically pumped his foot against the manual pedal to force the circuits into working again.</p><p> </p><p>Looking up, he felt like time had frozen on him. The wormhole loomed right in front of him, and through the distortion in the middle, he clearly saw the end point flare open in another barrage of stomach-twisting colors.</p><p> </p><p>His console brightened suddenly, and he yanked the flight control to his left to engage the engines. He could recover as long as he was in Earth’s gravity well, and he closed his eyes to mentally map out where every planetary or satellite body in the solar system was. Left was atmosphere, fifty degrees to the right of that would be the Moon. Reopening his eyes, he felt his stomach lurch sickeningly as it was clear <em>Pioneer</em> was now only spinning in a circle, headed right into the wormhole.</p><p> </p><p>The only comfort he had was that he wouldn’t be splattered into a bunch of constituent atoms on a closed wormhole.</p><p> </p><p>“Mission Control, <em>Pioneer</em>…” Hyukjae swore again as the console sparked and then went dark. The wormhole was looming large in his window, and he felt his stomach lurch. Not getting free-fall induced motion sickness was a chore in and of itself for him, but the array of colors swirling around him made it much harder.</p><p> </p><p>It probably didn’t help that he’d skipped eating for the day because of said motion sickness.</p><p> </p><p>“You fucking son of a motherless goat that spit you out <em>fucking power up</em>,” he yelled at the console that remained stubbornly dark even after repeated pushes of the manual lever. Slamming his gloved fist down on the console, he felt a spurt of hope that he could still get himself out of this situation as the console brightened up and crackled back into life. “Thank you very much,” he snarled sarcastically at the equipment that was suddenly bright and colorful.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Pioneer</em>…”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae looked up just in time to see Earth twist out of view, the open wormhole swallowing him and his ship up as he spun into it.</p><p> </p><p>He felt the engines kick back into life, and he bit the inside of his cheek to control the nausea as he looked back out the window. Shrieking, he saw <em>something</em> huge and <em>far too close</em> filling the view, and he fought against the inertia that <em>Pioneer</em> already had to try and get out of the way of whatever it was.</p><p> </p><p>Shoving the flight control away from him as much as he could, he hoped that ‘down’ for him was a clear area to where he could actually see something.</p><p> </p><p>The screech of rending metal made him wince, uttering a quick prayer under his breath that he was only scraping across, but as <em>Pioneer</em> shuddered and then moved in a slightly gentler arc, he knew with absolute certainty that something terrible had happened to his precious ship. Twisting as much as he could to look to the back of the ship, he belatedly felt his suit go to full pressure.</p><p> </p><p>It was almost beautiful in a sickening, fatalistic way, as he watched <em>Pioneer</em>’s aft end of the ship abruptly light up what he had crashed into before the engines hit a flat spot and detonated, fire blooming out in a growing gas cloud that could only come from an oxygenated environment.</p><p> </p><p>Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as he watched the small distortion of the gas cloud come closer, what was left of <em>Pioneer</em> still spinning and helpfully giving him a clear view of the debris that was speeding towards him before continuing to spin and interrupt the view.</p><p> </p><p>He forced himself to stay perfectly still in his pilot seat, knowing that it would afford him a bit of protection rather than catching a face full of tiny metallic debris that would slice through his helmet and suit like it wasn’t even there. He watched various control panels go dark at random, and for a brief second, thought he had escaped unscathed as the shockwave passed over.</p><p> </p><p>His attention was caught by a gas cloud drifting into his line of sight and he laughed bitterly as he saw the large rip in the leg of his suit, venting air that could have kept him alive for a few hours. His ears popped as air rushed out of the tear in his suit, and he welcomed the blackness of unconsciousness when it consumed him.</p><p> </p><p>/</p><p> </p><p>He never expected to wake up.</p><p> </p><p>But he did, his mind foggy and uncomprehending as he fought weakly against the firm hands on him.</p><p> </p><p>“Am I dead?” he mumbled as he tried to get his eyes to open.  </p><p> </p><p>Finally getting his eyes open, he heaved a little as the bright light made it feel like ice picks had just stabbed into his head through his eyes and he clenched them shut again. He recognized that there was noise, but it sounded like a thousand hives of angry wasps battling it out with a boozed-up redneck clan and a pack of flamingos.</p><p> </p><p>Cautiously opening his eyes, he had enough awareness to make out blurry, vaguely human-shaped objects above him, but he couldn’t seem to focus much beyond that. Hyukjae had no clue what was happening, feeling like he was swimming through air and everything around him aside from the hands felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool, adding to the weird sensory inputs.</p><p> </p><p>The slap across the face certainly helped with the focusing issue and helping to clear the cobwebs from his mind, even though he felt like he was at the end of a three-day bender and incredibly sleepy.</p><p> </p><p>He blinked a few times, his head ringing from the force of the slap. He noticed the military-like uniform first off, but there weren’t any visible ranks that he was familiar with and he skipped up to the face. Rearing back a little, he blatantly stared at the single-lidded, dark eyes, wondering if he had merely dreamed up or even hallucinated the past few years of his life. Then the man in front of him opened his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“Di xing ka lop.”</p><p> </p><p>Blinking, Hyukjae tried to figure out what language that was supposed to be. “What?” he tried in English, his voice slurred.</p><p> </p><p>“Di xing <em>ka</em> lop!”</p><p> </p><p>Shaking his head, Hyukjae tried for body language to convey that he had no clue what the guy was telling or asking him.</p><p> </p><p>With another slap, a small vial was shoved up his nose. He couldn’t help the instinctive breath in to protest the indignity, and he really hoped that whatever was in the vial wasn’t deadly.</p><p> </p><p>“Who are you?” he suddenly heard, the vial being taken out of his nose and tossed carelessly away. The voice was stiff and formal and apparently supremely pissed off.</p><p> </p><p>“How do you know Korean?” Hyukjae asked, his head swimming around from the repeated slaps and still drunk-feeling. “Where am I?”</p><p> </p><p>“Your. <em>Name</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae stared for a moment, trying to figure out where he was, who this guy in front of him was, how that guy also knew that he was Korean and suddenly started speaking his native language, and what the hell was in that vial.</p><p> </p><p>“I demand your name!” This time, the demand was accompanied by a punch that definitely made him see stars, and with crystal clarity, Hyukjae knew that he wasn’t dead – yet – but he was in the middle of an interrogation. With that, he immediately fell back into training while the majority of his thoughts were being consumed by wondering what the hell was even happening.</p><p> </p><p>“Lee Hyukjae. Commander of <em>Pioneer</em>. Republic of Korea Army,” he stated, his eyes drilling into the guy who kept slapping him. He wondered if he was dreaming still. Or maybe he’d never left Earth. But the guy that was hitting him had switched effortlessly from… whatever that language was because it didn’t sound like Chinese or any other language he’d encountered, into Korean as soon as Hyukjae had inhaled whatever was in that vial.</p><p> </p><p>“Li.. H… Ek.. Jai?” Hyukjae closed his eyes as he saw the man aiming yet another slap or a punch or whatever at him. Wincing at the impact and pain from a punch, Hyukjae almost wished he was unconscious again, feeling that something was off <em>just</em> enough to make it noticeable but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. “Your <em>true</em> name! Not some <em>nonsense</em> you have created!”</p><p> </p><p>Shaking his head, Hyukjae repeated himself, wondering how much longer it would be before he was unconscious again.</p><p> </p><p>Three punches later, he was just on the verge of passing out, and he was bracing for a fourth when the guy was interrupted. “Commandant, I ask for a moment,” a soft, distinctly female voice said.</p><p> </p><p>Blearily looking at her, he wondered how the hell she was speaking Korean too, even if it was extremely stiff and formal sounding. She was using polite forms, where the guy hadn’t been.</p><p> </p><p>“Your report?”</p><p> </p><p>“We brought the remains of that one’s craft aboard and it was inspected. It was found to contain… anomalies.”</p><p> </p><p>“What kind?”</p><p> </p><p>“Commandant, my report reflects that the craft was not manufactured within the Empire’s borders. It is crude technology, the sort that any shipyard would be ashamed to claim as their own. I conclude that it was manufactured in the Wilds. Perhaps that one is from one of the independent-leaning worlds?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Hyukjae protested. Insulting him was one thing, insulting <em>Pioneer</em> was another. He had put an absurd amount of time and thought into that design, and half the instruments and functioning parts he had to design himself since they didn’t even exist. “<em>Pioneer</em> isn’t <em>crude</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Forcing nausea down as he was punched again, he just wanted to sleep. Maybe there he could find an answer to what in the world the <em>Wilds</em> were – and what the woman meant with <em>independent leaning worlds</em>. There were some independent leaning <em>factions</em> he knew of, but <em>worlds</em>?</p><p> </p><p>“God, could you aim a little better,” he muttered under his breath.</p><p> </p><p>“What is your world called?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae couldn’t understand how he was on Earth and was being asked what <em>world</em> he came from. The absurdity of the entire question made him start laughing, his head rolling to the side. “The fuck kind of question is that?” he returned in between giggles. “’What is our world called,” he mimicked, not caring about the color that was swiftly traveling up the guy’s face. “Oh that’s a good one. Are you – are you going to ask me what color the sky is too?”</p><p> </p><p>He was displeased that the punch he got as an answer didn’t knock him out and it didn’t even stop his giggling, even as he was starting to get distinctly suspicious in some corner of his mind that he wasn’t on Earth… but everyone looked somewhat East Asian, so he had to be on Earth. Aliens would look like… aliens.</p><p> </p><p>“Your world!”</p><p> </p><p>Giving up, Hyukjae shook his head as he laughed. This was by far not how he expected an interrogation to go – he expected questions about his work and the technology that came from his work, not what the planet was called, which everyone should really know. The punches continued along with demands for the name of the planet, to which Hyukjae didn’t really know how to answer.</p><p> </p><p>Everyone knew the planet was called Earth. How and why someone didn’t know that was beyond his comprehension levels. Just on the verge of unconsciousness, he finally exploded as much as he could have under the circumstances, berating the man in a mixture of Korean and English cursing him for asking such an asinine question because <em>everyone </em>should know the name of the planet that they were on.</p><p> </p><p>The questions finally stopped as Hyukjae finally slipped into blackness.</p><p> </p><p>/</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae had no clue how long he was unconscious. As he finally started to come to, the cacophony of screaming, metal being pounded on, and sounds of fighting hit him. Opening his eyes, he blinked a few times to try and focus on what was going on, his head swimming. He would have just given up and passed back out, but a surge of adrenaline kept him awake as he suddenly focused in on the sight of many bodies running by, most of them inarticulately yelling, and he was pretty certain he’d just seen someone yank something off the wall to use as a makeshift weapon.</p><p> </p><p>He was still shaky as he tried to get up off the floor, but he stopped moving as several things occurred to him. One, there was some dull pain stretching across his back from shoulder to shoulder; two, what he was lying on was warm, but his hand was on something very <em>cold</em>; and three, he was completely, mortifyingly naked. Looking around frantically for something to cover himself with, but there was nothing in the small room he was in aside from what he was lying on. He slowly rose to his feet, pulling the padded material up with him. Pain shot through his feet from the extreme coldness of the metal and he breathed shallowly as he tried to move without falling over and without dropping whatever pathetic covering he had. Stumbling more than walking, he tried to keep moving to lessen the pain on his feet. He felt drunk, loopy, like he’d been drugged with something but it was wearing off, leaving him with just a distinct feeling of weirdness and unease that he didn’t know or remember the cause of.</p><p> </p><p>He'd barely gotten past the open doorway when he realized he was smack in the middle of a riot, but didn't have a chance to get back into the room he'd just left - people were shoving past and knocking him into cold metal walls, and he had to hold the sleeping pad around him with one hand and use the other to avoid getting his face smashed in. Just as he thought things were calming down and he might be able to get someone to point him towards clothes, he was pushed into a wall. Yelping as he nearly landed nose first, he hissed as his bare chest came directly into contact with the very cold metal wall and he was held in place.</p><p> </p><p>“This one has to be the infiltrator,” someone behind him announced. “That marking is too new!”</p><p> </p><p>“The <em>fuck</em>,” Hyukjae whispered under his breath as there was a chorus of shouts and agreements. He had to wonder if he was being held in fucking <em>Antarctica</em> from the cold, since he was pretty sure it was still summer, but that wouldn’t explain why everyone was speaking Korean. He was pretty sure he would have heard some rumors about prisons in polar locations if they existed. Something had to be going on, something weird, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.</p><p> </p><p>He barely had time to catch his breath before his still-short hair was grabbed painfully and he was yanked away from the wall. Training and relentless drills kicked in with a good dose of adrenaline, and though his face burned with embarrassment, he dropped the padding to give him full range of motion and both hands free. Reaching up, he dug his thumbnail into the soft underside of a wrist. As soon as his hair was free, he twisted around and down and he kept his grip tight, trying to make the arm he was holding onto follow him. He felt a brief spurt of hope at the yell of pain, but it was quickly tamped down as someone else punched at his head, dazing him and nearly knocking him out.</p><p> </p><p>Wobbling, he tried to blink his way back into focus, but it had stunned him just long enough to get pinned in a headlock that nearly threatened to cut off his air supply. Instinctively grabbing at the arm around his neck, he tried to get a little room to breathe as he was dragged down the hallway he was in.</p><p> </p><p>“Let me go,” he bit out as he struggled to get even a bit of leverage. What little air that was in his lungs was nearly crushed out as he was shoved against a wall again.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, we will let you <em>go</em>,” a voice said menacingly, followed by cheers.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae was so dazed from lack of air he couldn’t do anything except stumble along as he was dragged, but he held onto consciousness with fierce determination. When he was shoved against yet <em>another</em> wall, he sucked in as much as air as he could, resting his cheek against the cold metal. The pain was still there but dulled since air was far more of a priority. He blinked as a bulkhead type door slid upwards next to him, but his stomach dropped at the dull reddish lighting. He didn’t need to understand where he was to know that things like that usually did not bode well. He was dragged over, and his eyes widened at the circular window with a bright white light above it. It was completely dark outside the window and the ambient temperature dropped near the door, making him immediately think of every sci-fi movie he’d ever watched – which had been a lot – having a very cold airlock and outside the door was nothing but space.</p><p> </p><p>A fresh shot of adrenaline hit him, and now that he had a decent air supply, he was able to work his limbs enough to shove himself backwards. His arms were grabbed, and he twisted violently, trying to get free. “Let me go!” He vaguely noticed that his voice was shrill with fear.</p><p> </p><p>“Kill the infiltrator!”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae twisted even harder, all thoughts and concerns about his nudity forgotten for the moment. “I don’t know what the <em>fuck</em> you goddamn assholes are talking about,” he shrieked, fighting against being pushed into the room that terrified him, kicking his legs to use as leverage.</p><p> </p><p>He finally felt one of his arms move more freely, and he blindly punched out. He jerked in shock as his wrist was caught in a firm grip and simply held steady. Turning his head, he really couldn’t help the shocked shriek that left his throat. Two glowing golden eyes were staring steadily at him.</p><p> </p><p>“What the <em>fuck</em>,” Hyukjae yelled, trying to pull his arm back. Some deep part of him was certain that a large predator was in front of him, but as soon as he blinked, he noticed that the unsettling eyes belonged to a young woman, her shoulder length dark hair tucked behind her ears.</p><p> </p><p>“He is not the infiltrator,” she said calmly as she let go of Hyukjae’s wrist, looking at one of the people behind him. “You are.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae looked around as he noticed the soft growls of a dog somewhere nearby, his hands dropping to his crotch and instinctively covering himself, and entirely relieved that all of the attention was off him. But that gave him the precious few seconds to try and figure out what was going on and where he was. Glancing around, he noticed that everyone looked vaguely like him, maybe a few darker skin tones that could come from anywhere in southeast Asia. That would mean that he would have to be on Earth, since he couldn’t imagine aliens looking like him. Right…?</p><p> </p><p>“Crazy bitch! You are <em>tribute</em>,” the guy she was talking to spat out. “Are you his?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shifted his weight slightly to try and keep the pain from coldness to a minimum but also to not draw any attention back to himself, but he did turn a bit just so he could watch what was going on. He was probably the only one that noticed her hand twitch slightly at being called tribute, whatever that was.</p><p> </p><p>“I belong to no one,” she answered, her voice just as composed as it had been, but Hyukjae suddenly realized that the dog-like growls were coming from her. “That one is only confused, with no intent to harm. Your intent is to control and harm.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Shabi</em>!” the guy yelled as he lurched forward. “You can go with your <em>infiltrator</em> master.”</p><p> </p><p>“I would not recommend that,” a new voice said, raised just enough to be heard over the few shouts of agreement, and entirely silenced any further noise aside from the soft growls. “Her twin has already caused one riot for her.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae turned to look at a tall, lanky man dressed in the same clothes that everyone had on but had such an aura of authority it made Hyukjae want to stand at attention. It seemed as though he wasn’t the only one who felt it, since over half of the group that was crowding around him immediately dropped to their knees, bowing their heads to the floor. The rest of them were only a little slower in getting there. It left only the guy who was arguing, the woman, Hyukjae himself, and the tall guy still standing, and Hyukjae had to wonder what kind of deference everyone was showing to the tall guy.</p><p> </p><p>He suddenly hissed as pain shot up his legs from the cold, heat spreading through his cheeks as he once again realized that he was naked. He’d forgotten that minor detail – along with wondering why everyone was speaking Korean – in the fight to keep himself alive. The woman looked at him, her eyes suddenly losing the strange, eerie glow as she tilted her head slightly, and the growling gradually tapered off. She showed no fear in turning her back on the guy she’d been arguing with, walking over to the tall, thin man. “I will acquire clothing for that one. He is uncomfortable… and cold.”</p><p> </p><p>Tall and Thin nodded once, stepping off to the side slightly to let her pass. “A moment,” he said before she passed by. Hyukjae watched her tilt her head inquisitively, a wild memory of his dogs doing the same flashing by. “What is the situation?”</p><p> </p><p>“Infiltrator,” she replied, vaguely gesturing to the other guy. Hyukjae didn’t kid himself that he wasn’t feeling vindicated. “Accusing the bare one of being that.”</p><p> </p><p>Tall and Thin nodded. “My thanks.” The woman nodded her head briefly and stepped by. “Bare One, come,” he ordered, waving his hand in a ‘come here’ motion.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae only hesitated for a second, suspicious that it was a trick, but Tall and Thin was farther away from that terrifying room than Hyukjae was and it turned into a no-brain decision to move. “My name is Lee Hyukjae,” he corrected as soon as he’d waddled over.</p><p> </p><p>“Hekjai?” Tall and Thin asked, obviously stumbling over the pronunciation.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my God, everyone is speaking Korean, but you can’t pronounce my <em>name</em>?” he finally asked, exasperated. Then several things swiftly occurred to him. A wild thought of wondering if what he was feeling was similar to what Dorothy experienced when she landed in Oz flashed through.</p><p> </p><p>One, he was fairly certain that nothing in any polar location would be so incredibly dark – he’d at least be able to see something either via starlight or the moon. Sure, he could be underground, but the way the guy had been threatening him, Hyukjae had the feeling that the other guy thought that as soon as he went past that door, Hyukjae would be dead. Which only really left it being an airlock out to space. If he was in space, he wasn’t in free fall, which implied some form of artificial gravity which he <em>knew</em> didn’t exist.</p><p> </p><p>Two, if everyone was speaking Korean, they would absolutely be able to pronounce his name. Even people whose native language wasn’t Korean were usually able to hit the pronunciation fairly close – not the weird stumbling pronunciation everyone was doing – and given that everyone looked vaguely East or Southeast Asian, he should at least hear something approaching his name.</p><p> </p><p>Three, that woman who had just walked away from him – hopefully to actually get him clothes – had been growling like a dog, even as she was speaking, and her eyes were solidly <em>gold</em>. Not hazel, not light brown, but an honest amber-like gold color. They also had <em>been glowing</em>. There was no way that would ever happen to any human. She also seemed to be very certain about Hyukjae’s mental state and saying that the other guy was actually the infiltrator – again, whatever that was.</p><p> </p><p>He blinked slowly as all of that information crashed in on him, making the feeling of unease stronger, only to refocus as the other guy started yelling and he realized that he was still in a rather precarious situation. All of those weird things would have to wait.</p><p> </p><p>“That <em>shabi</em>! She <em>accused</em> me!”</p><p> </p><p>No one had moved off of their knees, but Hyukjae noticed some suspicious glances towards the other guy from the people on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“She is covering for her owner by saying that <em>I</em> am the infiltrator!”</p><p> </p><p>“She belongs to no one,” Tall and Thin said firmly. “She has no owner, no master aside from herself as <em>I</em> am the one that freed her from my clan. If she says that you are the infiltrator, you are one.”</p><p> </p><p>“She lies,” the guy said, spit flying from his mouth as his eyes darted around.</p><p> </p><p>“She does not. She speaks truthfully, and through my entire life, she has never uttered one falsehood.  Relinquish your weapon. There is no one left to infiltrate for. You may either join those who surrendered peacefully, or you may join the others in death,” Tall and Thin replied. Hyukjae had to wonder what the hell Tall and Thin had on him to give him such confidence to not being attacked or shot.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae jumped and barely kept himself from yelping as a soft hand touched his shoulder from behind.</p><p> </p><p>“Bare One. Clothing,” the woman said, holding out a pile of dark fabric as she dropped a pair of shoes next to him.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae had to take a couple of deep breaths before he could shakily reach out with one hand to grab the fabric – which felt like a weird mix of silk and something stretchy. Feeling better now that he at least had <em>something</em> to cover himself with, he wondered if he could hold onto enough of the clothes to at least cover his dick while he dressed.</p><p> </p><p>“There is no reason for embarrassment,” the woman said to him softly, her voice pitched under the argument brewing between Tall and Thin and the other guy, and she kept her eyes off Hyukjae even as she edged ahead of him. “Most are born with genitalia.”</p><p> </p><p>Pain from the coldness overrode any mortification he was still feeling, and he quickly dressed, hissing as another shot of pain went through his feet as they went from being very, very cold to not so cold, making them feel like they were burning. Now that he was at least dressed, he could start to concentrate on all the weirdness surrounding him.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” he whispered to her, getting a nod in return. “What’s your name?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She turned to look at him, blinking curiously. “Twin and I do not have one. If you require a designator for use, I was referred as Two during servitude.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae felt his stomach roil, but not from hunger. “You were a slave?” he asked, utterly horrified.</p><p> </p><p>“Your reaction is most peculiar,” she replied, a small smile appearing. “Aside from Zhou Mi and his close associates, I have not known others to be appalled about either form of servitude.”</p><p> </p><p>“Who’s Zhou Mi?”</p><p> </p><p>She pointed at Tall and Thin.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay I already like him way more than the guy he’s arguing with.”</p><p> </p><p>The corners of her lips turned upwards even more. “Your speech patterns are odd. What world do you come from?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae blinked. “What do you mean what world? I’m from Korea.”</p><p> </p><p>“I have never heard of that world. What is the location?”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?” Hyukjae returned. “What? No, Korea’s a <em>nation</em> not a world.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is a nation?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae was nearly about to lose his temper, but he looked at her and was once again startled by her gold eyes. All of the weirdness crashed back into him and he looked around, feeling the barest edge of panic. “We’re not on Earth, are we?” he asked quietly.</p><p> </p><p>“I am unknowing of that world. Is it in the Wilds?”</p><p> </p><p>Her question was so forthright and matter of fact that Hyukjae had no doubt she was telling the truth. An odd sense of grief filled him. “I don’t know,” he answered, his voice choking up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Want</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="FicStyle">
  <em>Now:</em>
</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae blew out a breath as the alarms ringing through the ship finally slowed to a stop. “Is there anything I need to go fix right now?” he asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We have not sustained any new hull breaches, and unless you have turned into a power generator…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae snorted. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he teased back with a grin. “So we’re not going to immediately die?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Song Qian grinned and kissed his cheek. “Not this <em>farn</em>. Where are we?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi shook his head. “Unknown.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber walked over, her gold eyes flicking over the projection table before she hugged Song Qian. “Twin and I took the last jump nearly blind. The data we have access to is minimal.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled as he felt a familiar pair of arms hugging him from behind. Leaning back, he let Donghae look over his shoulder at the projection that Zhou Mi was still moving around.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“There seems to be one source of potential communications, but it is extremely faint and at the lowest level we can detect. I do not believe that it would have mercantile commerce if it is a faraway colony.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae winced. No market economy meant bartering, and there wasn’t much on the ship that they could spare. Not that they would be any better off if there was a market economy.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“But there are communications,” Song Qian pointed out as she ran her fingers through Amber’s hair. “If necessary, I will barter my time, but we need to recharge our power sources either by generation or finding a star with sufficient winds. We can afford one jump to get us closer to the communications source, but that is all.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae reached forward, narrowing in on the communication source area, reading the Imperial data while biting his lower lip. There were several stars within a few light years of each other, and something about them seemed familiar but he couldn’t immediately place it. Since Imperial Astronomers used different categorizations for star types, Hyukjae had forced himself to become used to the new units, mentally connecting them to the Earth scientific units, and he could tell with a glance that he was looking at a typical G type star with a typical wobble that meant that it had at least one planet. The star itself was an oddity since it wasn’t in a binary, but while it was odd, it also wasn’t unheard of.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It should have enough of a stellar wind to give us a backup plan if there’s no power generation,” he finally said. “I can’t tell how strong it is until we’re inside the limits of it and how close we’ll need to be to get enough of it without having to use more than the radiation shields.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Are we in agreement, then?” Zhou Mi asked, looking around.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Everyone nodded, and with a brief kiss on Hyukjae’s cheek, Donghae moved back to the piloting station. Hyukjae smiled as he sat down on the floor with Zhou Mi and Song Qian. While any one of them could easily pilot with each other, the twins worked best together and when there was limited navigational data, it was the wisest course of action to have the twins fly in case they wound up too near any one of the things that could kill them.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will be so happy to have the dampers back up,” Zhou Mi muttered as the ship shuddered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded in agreement.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I just want power,” Song Qian replied as she pulled her hair back off her face and started to braid it. “I am very tired of having carefully ration each unit.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Both Zhou Mi and Hyukjae reached out to rest their hands on her, knowing the hard decisions she had to make with the ship.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We’ll get power one way or another,” Hyukjae said, assuring both her and himself.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">After what felt like forever, the ship finally slowed, shuddering back into normal space.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Song Qian pulled up a model of the ship on the projection table, looking for new problems. “No new hull breaches, but we are on very limited power.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae didn’t bother turning around to look at the projection, trusting everyone to get his attention if he could actually help with something. He was okay at pretty much everything, but he wasn’t the best at specific things like the others were. Smiling as Donghae leaned against him, he enjoyed a cuddle with his lover, looping an arm around Amber as she leaned against his side. Closing his eyes, he relaxed, letting the twins soak up some of the contentment.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What an odd planet,” Zhou Mi muttered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Hm?” Hyukjae muttered, turning his head just enough to glance at the table. A blue-green sphere hovered there, entirely featureless to Hyukjae’s eyes, but a feeling of familiarity arose within him. “What’s odd about it?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You cannot see the bands?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head. “Must be just outside the lower edge of what I can see. It’s just a blue-green atmosphere to me. What can you see?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi traced some banding with his finger, but instead of being horizontal as they should be, the circles Zhou Mi was making were vertical.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The feeling of familiarity tugged at Hyukjae again, and he reluctantly let go of the twins to turn around. Manipulating the projection, he glanced over at the data they could pick up with their sensors.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“This isn’t the communication source is it?” he asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No, it is further within the system,” Zhou Mi confirmed. “This is just where we arrived.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">It was a gaseous planet, the atmosphere mostly hydrogen and helium, and trace amounts of other chemicals like methane to give it its color, but even though it was featureless to Hyukjae, the sensors did pick up banding in line with the axis of the planet – which was sideways. He snorted a laugh as he realized the feeling of familiarity.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae made an inquisitive sound, tilting his head slightly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My home system has a planet like that – it’s basically rolling along the orbital plane,” Hyukjae explained, rolling his hand to give a visual. “It’s amusing because it’s so weird.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah,” Donghae breathed as he nodded.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae was thankful that no one asked if it was possible it could be the Sol system – he’d tried to numb the hope of ever seeing Earth again just to be able to survive, and the few times he had hoped that some miracle had occurred brought such a profound sense of crushing disappointment and depression afterwards that he could barely function. The planet he was staring at did look like Uranus, and had the same funny axis, but Hyukjae didn’t dare let himself hope.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Now that we have arrived within the system, there are multiple communication sources, but it seems as though the main source is closer to the star,” Zhou Mi muttered. “The sources closer to us seem to be directing their communications to the main source.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Colonies, perhaps?” Amber asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi shrugged. His tall, thin body that was so characteristic of the elite levels of Zhang aristocracy made the movement look a bit jerkier than it actually was. “I do not believe so. The signals are far too faint for habitation.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Any colonies would perhaps be better placed to mine the asteroids closer to the star,” Song Qian added.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae felt a flicker of hope and immediate annoyance after it. “Where’s the source at?” he asked, just wanting to get the disappointment over with already. It couldn’t be Sol – not after all this time, he told himself.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Both of the twins immediately picked up on his emotions and encircled him with their arms, giving him both physical and emotional reassurance that no matter what, they would be with him.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi reached into the projection, and as if everything had slowed down to a crawl, Hyukjae watched a brilliantly blue and green sphere with white clouds form in front of him.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“This is –“ Zhou Mi started, only to be cut off by Hyukjae.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Earth,” he managed to force out, feeling his breath shallow out as shock took over. He felt Donghae squeeze his waist tightly, and he closed his eyes get his emotions in enough control that he wouldn’t pass out. Leaning forward, he braced his hands on the edge of the table and forced a deep breath in through his nose and exhaling gently through his mouth. Song Qian was patting his shoulder, probably worried if he was going to utterly collapse, while Zhou Mi stroked his hair as the twins hugged him tightly to give him a way to physically anchor himself. After a few more deep breaths, he opened his eyes.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Like a shining jewel, Earth hung above the table, suspended, enlarged enough with their barely-there scanners that he could instantly know he was looking at Eurasia, dots that represented cities lighting up the darkness linking themselves together in a complex web of trade routes and connections as the sun began to make its way across the giant landmass. It was already morning across most of China and all of Australia, and some parts of India were just beginning to stir, turning the electrical lights off to bask in the comforting glow of their sun. Africa and Europe would have some more hours of precious sleep before the sun would creep over to them, which meant that the Americas would be slowly going to bed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sucked on his lips as he stared at the image projected holographically, trying to sort out his own emotions. He’d wanted to see the sight of Earth again before he died, and he thought it was a total fantasy – he was completely lost in space – but now he was looking at Earth. The familiar lines still making him feel faint with the shock and surprise, and all he could do was stare as the silence settled around the small crew, surrounding all of them with only the slight hiss of the life support.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That is it?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The quiet words broke the silence and Hyukjae jerked a little, finally nodding without taking his eyes off the image he’d desperately hoped to see. “That’s Earth. That’s my home planet.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It is… pretty.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae snorted a laugh, his lips stretching up into a smile. “I’m kind of fond of it.” He waited a beat before looking around at everyone, finally settling on Donghae, who was holding him just a little tighter than Amber. “You guys know I’m not leaving, right? Earth is my home planet, but it’s not my home anymore.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You do not wish to go back to it?” Amber asked curiously.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Well, yeah I do want to go back, but just for a visit. I miss my family and it <em>hurts</em> that they probably think that I’m dead. But it’s not <em>home</em>. Not anymore. That and honestly, none of us would be able to live in peace.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Oh yes, your government,” Zhou Mi’s smooth, cultured voice chimed in.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“And the… paraji?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Paparazzi,” Hyukjae absently corrected. “And it’s governments in the <em>very</em> multiple sense.” The annoyed breaths of air through teeth made him grin. “I told you we were a mess.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I still do not fully understand why your people continue to divide themselves when there are far greater dangers than ancient blood feuds and hurt feelings,” Donghae muttered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “No one’s ever been faced with those dangers, so there’s sort of a ‘that will never happen’ kind of attitude. Some will also want to maintain their positions of power, so they’ll continue their own willful ignorance. I doubt half of the governments would change even if a flagship showed up in orbit.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That, I suspect, would be devastating for your people,” Zhou Mi commented. He was always far more intuitive when it came to political machinations, and Hyukjae always deferred to his knowledge.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah imagine my reaction when I met you and then multiply it by about seven billion.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Riots, panic… all for what?” Amber asked in a much softer voice.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The realization that we’re not at the top of the food chain,” Hyukjae muttered bitterly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The silence fell again for a moment. “We can leave,” Donghae offered softly. “No one will think lowly of you for it, and we can wipe the data if you wish.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae was tempted, sorely tempted, to take the offer. The majority of their time out in the Wilds and within the Empire’s borders was spent running. Running from place to place, running from the Imperial ships, running when things got bad, running others to some precious form of safety, and this would just be yet another run. He sighed. “I wish I could...” he said, his voice breaking. They could try and cover their tracks as best they could, but there was always that chance that Earth could be found by the Zhang.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He couldn't take that risk. Not with his family stuck on the planet.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He was pulled forward, and he buried his face in the strong line of the neck, breathing in a scent that soothed him by its familiarity. He let himself cry, the emotions overwhelming him. He was actually back to his home planet, he could help his people with the knowledge he'd gained, but he was still <em>home</em>. He felt strong arms come around him, holding him close and other hands rested on him or softly pet his hair. He hiccupped a little as the soft pets to his hair smoothed into lips on his cheek and softly whispered words of love and assurance. When he lifted his head, the lips on his cheek lifted to meet his, the chaste kiss soothing him further.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">When their lips separated naturally, he sighed and opened his eyes, and then smiled. “I love you Donghae,” he confessed yet again, never able to stop the words.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae smiled at him, his eyes turning up, a thin rim of blue appearing on the edges of the irises. “Just as you have my love. How will we contact your people?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled. Not <em>you</em>, but <em>we</em>. “I haven’t figured that out yet,” he said with a watery laugh as he was passed around like a doll to get hugged. “I mean, it’s not like I can just cruise on out and scare the shit out of whoever’s up on the ISS, as funny as that would be momentarily.” He ran his fingers through his hair as his current reality caught up with him. “Um. Okay. Hang on. Come on self, priorities. There’s a <em>lot</em> of satellites everywhere – that’s the communication sources we were picking up. No colonies and Earth definitely does <em>not</em> have a way to get us power that we can quickly use, <em>but</em> the solar wind is usually pretty good, even during a solar minimum. That should at least get us something to use.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi was already working at the projection table, starting to track satellites. Everyone winced at the cacophony of noise that blared before getting cut off. Amber shook her head. “So noisy!” she complained.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah we’re not exactly quiet. It’s nothing more than a miracle that we haven’t been discovered yet, really, and probably because we’re arrogant in thinking that we’re either alone in the galaxy or that we can handle whatever comes at us.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae turned amused eyes on him as the rest of the solar system formed in the holographic particles with silvery lines indicating satellite orbits and orange lines representing planetary bodies moving. “You have proved rather resourceful… and arrogant at points…” he teased.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grinned as he leaned closer to Donghae and got pinned against the console. “Arrogant, hm?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I never said that I did not like it,” Donghae said nipping at his lips. “Let us begin making plans for contacting your people.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae turned his head, eyes flicking over the lines. Offhand, he knew the names and agencies for a good dozen of the multitude of satellites, picking out the main ones he knew he’d have to watch out for around Jupiter and Saturn. He chewed on his thumb as he tried to pick out blind spots where they could hop closer to Earth without being noticed or crashing right into a satellite in low power mode.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber made a frustrated noise, her soft gold colored eyes flicking over the projection. “Where can we hide? There are satellites around <em>everything</em>! There are satellites around satellites, and we cannot just orbit with the … station?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, the ISS – International Space Station,” Hyukjae replied. “The major problems are Jupiter and Saturn… er, sorry that’s the two large gaseous planets. Saturn’s the one with the ring of particles around it. There’s a couple of new satellites around those two with what I’m guessing is some very good resolution imagers that can get pictures back to Earth within a standard or two. Plus, we’d have to continually dodge all of those moons and anything else swinging around not to mention the wild radiation fluctuations.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We do not have the power resources to run stealthing or shields,” Song Qian worried as she played with the ends of her hair. “We need to obtain as much of the star wind as possible to replenish our power. We cannot even jump out of the system without at least one <em>farn</em> in the star wind.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It will take that long?” Zhou Mi asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Song Qian shrugged. “I can only guarantee a minimalization of time if we shut down almost everything, including everything except the most basic radiational shields and life support.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Unfortunately, even smaller telescopes on the ground can obtain really good images and that could bring the attention of the larger telescopes on the ground and in orbit. I’m not very thrilled with the idea of a full <em>farn</em> rotation for piloting…” Hyukjae trailed off as he caught sight of Mars. “Oh.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You have a solution?” Amber asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae reached into the projection, expanding the visual of the red planet. “I think so. Mars doesn’t really have much of a magnetic field, but if we’re shutting down a lot of systems, it might just be enough to cover the signature of the ship and boost the radiation shields. It also looks like there’s still at least one operational robot on the surface and it should have a decent imager on it.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I thought you did not want to be seen?” Donghae asked, his face twisting in confusion.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I don’t want them to see this <em>ship</em>, I want them to see <em>me</em>. I’m hopeful that the innermost moon can support the weight of the ship landing without disruption. If we stay still on the sun-facing side, we should be able to evade visual detection of the ship since the moon isn’t really reflective, yet we can still get a decent amount of power.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Does it rotate?” Song Qian asked, biting her lower lip in thought.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No, it’s tidally locked, so aside from the short times when it’s behind the planet, we’ll get the stellar wind.” Song Qian nodded, accepting the information.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You will pilot?” Amber asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Unless you want me to be giving directions,” he joked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber playfully wrinkled her nose. “I will assist Song Qian in cataloging what repairs we may begin with our limited supplies.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Make a wish list of materials – preferably with chemical and atomic compounds – that we need. Once I’m able to make contact, I’ll see what supplies we might be able to get from the governments.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Fresh food?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Absolutely,” Hyukjae agreed as he followed Donghae to the piloting seats.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">/</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae chuckled to himself as he stepped onto the dusty brown-red surface of Mars in his old spacesuit and looked around. He knew that the rover was just over the crater to his right. “I shouldn't be more than about half a standard,” he said into the communicator that directed back to Donghae rather than to Earth when he mentally calculated the time differences, figuring that an Earth hour would be more than sufficient.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Understood. How is your air?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked at the read out, mentally calculating Earth time into Zhang time. “I've got two standard's worth, but I don't want to push it. I'll be back soon.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He walked as quickly as he dared across the Martian landscape, breathing a sigh of relief when the rover was slowly moving towards him. He didn't bother with trying to evade detection and walked right up to the camera. He already had the small note written out, and he hoped that he wouldn't have to do this more than once but was guessing that he'd have to try multiple times to get any response.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He was able to easily stop the rover from moving with his foot and held the note in front of the camera, keeping his face in the shot as well.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do you think they will reply quickly?” Donghae asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I don’t know,” Hyukjae answered. “It takes a while for communications to get from here to Earth, then hopefully someone’s awake to see this, but then they have to calm down and make some calls – communications – to others, and then it takes time for the communication to reach back to here.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae groaned. “That sounds very complicated for such a simple thing.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, it is. I really wish that I could just head over to the ISS and broadcast from there, but there’s no way anyone would believe a voice-only communication, they’d think it would be an infiltrator or someone playing a very bad prank.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah, which is why you needed the imager on this device?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yep. They’ll have access to my image somewhere so they can at least verify my face matches to my record.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What was this world called again?” Donghae asked after a moment.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Mars,” Hyukjae replied. “It’s named after an ancient god of warfare and aggression since the planet looks very red from Earth, the ancient people must have thought it looked like it was coated in blood.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah. Is everything named similarly?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“A lot of things, yeah. Only the bigger asteroids would get anything approaching a proper name rather than just an astronomical designation but moons in orbit of planets are generally named in accordance to what the planet’s name is. The moon we landed on is called Phobos and the outer moon is called Demios.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“More ancient names?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, the names work out to be something like Panic and Fear.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae laughed loudly. “Appropriate for war-farer names. Are there reasons behind the name of Earth?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hummed as he shifted his weight slightly inside his spacesuit. He was glad that Martian gravity was lower than Earth’s so his arms wouldn’t get as tired holding something up for half an hour, as they would have on Earth. “Not really – Earth just means something like <em>ground</em> or <em>rock</em>. We’re not incredibly original in naming some very basic things.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He was actually startled when the alarm he had set for fifteen minutes chimed, interrupting his and Donghae’s conversation. “Okay I have to switch to the other communicator. I'll check in with you soon.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Understood,” Donghae replied, his voice tight.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Knowing that there would be no way to soothe Donghae, Hyukjae flicked the communicator with his tongue. He was unable to stop himself from looking around habitually, looking for anything that could be out of place.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">After an excruciating wait of five minutes and one more glance look around at his surroundings, he took a deep breath. “This is Commander Lee Hyukjae, pilot of the one-man vessel <em>Pioneer</em>. It has been six years, eight months, and fourteen days since the incident. I was most likely declared missing in space, but I am alive. <em>Pioneer</em> worked. I was launched into a human created wormhole and arrived safely on the other side. I...” he faltered, trying to gather his words and not lapsing into his native Korean. “I bring news from other worlds. We are not alone. I repeat, we are not alone. There are allies and enemies in other civilizations. I request that you reply on this frequency to communicate. I require milk for my cookies.” The seemingly nonsensical statement was an old one, one that he'd agreed with his coordinator that he would use if there was any doubt who he was. “Please spin the camera twice to indicate acknowledgment and receipt of my message.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Flicking the communicator again, he found his hands shaking within the suit and he shifted his weight again, thankfully able to drop his arms from holding onto the damn clipboard he’d scrounged up from <em>Pioneer</em>. “Hey.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Hi,” Donghae replied immediately. “How much longer?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I don’t know. I just sent the message and have to wait for them to acknowledge it after they get done shitting themselves.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae's amused snort of air echoed in his ears. “Your expressions about bodily functions never cease to amuse me.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled, relieved that Donghae didn't sound nearly as tense.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“How is your air?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked at the readout. “Still fine. I think we finally managed to find and seal the last air leak.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I would not be nearly as concerned if you were wearing your actual spacesuit.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae glanced around again. “I think it would make both of us less worried, but this is for identification purposes. They need to see me how I'm remembered. If I notice the air starting to go down, I'll head back.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae sighed softly. “All right, but do not place yourself in danger for it. I realize that this is the safest option, but I would almost rather fly you and <em>Pioneer</em> right up to the space station you have in orbit.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, after getting used to instant communication, it's annoying to wait for transmissions again.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He chatted to Donghae while he waited for the next alarm to go off and flipped communicators again when his alarm beeped at him, indicating thirty minutes had passed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">His eyes closed as he heard static and then the first words from his planet in over six years as the camera spun in a full circle once, paused, and then spun again.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Message received. Stand by.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Smiling, he flipped his note over and grabbed his pen as the message repeated multiple times in his ears.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle"><em>Message acknowledged. Must return to ship for air due to suit malfunction, frequency still open</em>, he wrote in both Korean and English and held it up for the camera, giving a thumbs up. Pulling his foot away from the robot, he made sure that the rover was able to get moving again and had a firm grip on the ground.</p><p class="FicStyle">
  
</p><p class="FicStyle">Flipping the communicator again, he smiled, relieved that everything had been accomplished relatively quickly. “Hey, I'm on my way back.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Understood,” Donghae replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae walked quickly back to the attack ship, and cycled through the airlock, not surprised that Donghae was already taking off before he'd gotten the cumbersome spacesuit off. He grabbed the communicator out of the helmet, making sure that it was set to the frequency that directed back to Earth. He'd barely gotten out of the main bulk of the space suit before he felt the main engines cut off and the soft thrusters take over, which meant they were already back at their ship that was landed on the daylight side of Phobos. He kept the communicator in hand as it repeated the same message every few minutes as he and Donghae exited out of the attack ship.</p><p class="FicStyle">
  
</p><p class="FicStyle">Amber was sitting in one of the two pilot chairs as they strolled back into the main room. “Were you successful?”</p><p class="FicStyle">
  
</p><p class="FicStyle">“Yes,” Donghae replied as he lightly kicked his twin's feet to get her out of the chair. “I believe that we are now waiting for scientists and politicians to cease urinating on themselves. How are repairs?”</p><p class="FicStyle">
  
</p><p class="FicStyle">“Now that you have returned, they will go a lot faster with extra hands,” Song Qian said over the speakers.</p><p class="FicStyle">
  
</p><p class="FicStyle">“Twin and I will be there shortly to assist,” Donghae said, amused.</p><p class="FicStyle">
  
</p><p class="FicStyle">“My thanks.”</p><p class="FicStyle">
  
</p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae gave Donghae a short kiss as he slid into the pilot’s chair, listening to his communicator for any change.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">/</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">When the message did change, it was almost six hours later and Hyukjae was having a meal with the crew, all of them crowded around a bowl of food cubes, which, while nutritious and stimulated the feeling of fullness, were still bland as hell.</p><p class="FicStyle">
  
</p><p class="FicStyle">“Commander Lee, milk has been purchased from the store. Request visual confirmation of the grocery list, will await reply.” Hyukjae rolled his eyes and toggled the communicator.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Agreed. Request permission to put grocery list in orbit of lunar surface for real time visual. Time is not sensitive for arrival. Awaiting reply.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What was said?” Donghae asked as soon as Hyukjae had set the communicator back down from turning off the microphone. Hyukjae knew that he meant the odd phrasing instead of the entire broadcast.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The governments are really paranoid about people not being who they say they are in order to gain access to either secrets or materials.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Like infiltrators?” Amber asked curiously.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yep, except on Earth they’re called spies. But there’s also entire segments of the entertainment industries devoted to fictional depictions of… aliens, for lack of a better word, coming to Earth and covertly infiltrating for a takeover.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi snorted a soft laugh. “That is far from how the Imperial forces would announce themselves.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I know, but we Earthlings enjoy scaring ourselves silly with stories like that, so I was trained to remember odd phrases to let higher ups know that it’s actually me, not someone impersonating me, and that I’m not being forced to repeat something.” He shrugged and popped another food cube in his mouth. “When they’re asking for the grocery list, they want to see me inside <em>Pioneer</em> for visual confirmation.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae’s mouth twitched. “I am going with you.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled and patted his hand. “I know you are.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi steepled his fingers. “This seems dangerous. You do not trust them?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “About as much as they trust me – which is not at all. This is literally our first contact ever with any civilization outside of Earth, so they’re going to be extremely paranoid. But since they’re paranoid, that’s going to make them predictably dangerous. Predictability, even paranoid predictability, is better than randomness.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It is within that predictability that we can minimize danger to you as well,” Zhou Mi finished with a nod.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Should I pilot the second attacker?” Song Qian asked, her delicate mouth turned down.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head. “You can keep it on standby but they can’t do anything. The only danger is if I’m cleared to come closer to the planet since we have no defenses otherwise.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“How fast could they intercept you in a moon orbit?” Amber asked, frowning.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“They can’t,” Hyukjae answered honestly. “The last time any living being from Earth went to the moon it took them over three of Earth’s solar days – something just under two <em>farn</em> – to even get in orbit. They’ll never have enough time to get anything even close to the Moon. They could theoretically launch a fission bomb into space within a standard at something in orbit around the planet but given the political and diplomatic issues that would arise from that, it’s a very small chance of that happening.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Will they reply soon?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “Maybe. They either take forever or it’s nearly instant.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“So even without contact with the Zhang, they move as quickly or as slowly as the Zhang do,” Zhou Mi joked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Of course. If they don’t answer soon, where do I start in with the repairs?” Hyukjae asked Song Qian.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The twins and I will continue to try repairing our power generations so that we are able to get some functionality back towards stealthing and flight. If we are able to get supplies from your world, that will decrease the amount of time we need to stay in the star wind – even the most minor supplies would be helpful. The star wind is charging the power banks at exactly the rate we determined, so within five <em>farn</em> we will be able to take flight as needed. We will still never be able to outrun a flagship without some warning time, but we would be able to use stealthing to hide from anything short of the <em>Faixan</em> class ships within another <em>farn</em>.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Is that five <em>farn</em> doing what we’re doing now or using stealthing?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Doing as we are now. If we have to power up stealthing, that will slow the power generation, and it is possible that using stealthing along with the engines would deplete everything we have obtained or send us back into dangerously low levels.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grimaced. They’d been in those dangerously low levels before – to the point they could only keep enough air and heat circulating in three areas to allow them to live with everything else turned off, and he never wanted to be that cold ever again.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We will maintain hope that it does not come to that,” Donghae said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“If your planet does have some of our high priority list materials, that would allow us to complete the critical repairs and focus on replacing some hull tiles to regain structural integrity and usage of areas.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That would be –“ Hyukjae started, only to be interrupted by the communicator sitting on the table.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Affirmative. Grocery list is approved for lunar orbit in one hour from last transmission from Mission Control.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae rolled his eyes upwards as he did some quick mental gymnastics to convert Earth time to Zhang time then back to Earth time. “Are you fucking <em>kidding</em> me,” he growled before he grabbed the communicator. “Confirmed of lunar orbit of grocery list. Be advised, grocery list has been modified due to… fire and discontinued items,” he said, knowing that he hadn’t quite kept the laughter out of his voice as he toggled the communicator back off.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“How long is… one hour?” Song Qian asked curiously.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“About a third of a standard. Earth runs on a base sixty time scale. Sixty seconds to a minute, sixty minutes to an hour.” No matter where he was in the galaxy, a second was still a second. “That transmission took a little over fifteen minutes to get here, which is gives us forty-five minutes to get in a lunar orbit, which from here should only be about five minutes.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It will take about half that time to get power back to the hangars,” Song Qian replied as she stood.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Amber and I will assist you,” Zhou Mi said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My thanks.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Thank you,” Hyukjae said, straightening up the few items out of place. “Donghae, let’s get <em>Pioneer</em> and your attacker powered up so we can leave as soon as we can.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae took off at a jog for the hangars, hearing Donghae follow him down the quiet halls. Once at the hangars, they both took the time to pull on their piloting suits before sharing a brief kiss and then breaking away to power up their vehicles. Hyukjae had not been joking when he said that <em>Pioneer</em> had been modified – he’d basically had to marry the back part of an attacker onto the chunk that had been taken out when he’d literally run right into a flagship. <em>Pioneer</em> was more attacker than it was originally Earth made equipment, but Hyukjae kept the outer paint décor out of sentimentality. Climbing up and into <em>Pioneer</em>, he started his power up check, feeling his chair begin to vibrate slightly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Donghae?” he asked into the communicator attached to his suit.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Here,” Donghae promptly answered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We should probably be stealthed as we leave – I have no clue who might be watching with a ground-based telescope. They can only really guess that we’re around this area, but I’d rather not give them confirmation.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will defer to your knowledge of your people.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shot a look at the small holograph of Donghae off to his side, and Donghae’s lips were curved up into a teasing grin. “Smart ass,” Hyukjae playfully returned with a grin.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae’s head tilted a bit. “Are you nervous?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sighed as he nodded. “There’s just so much uncertainty if they’ll believe me, if they agree to trade, if I can even see my family…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We will be here with you,” Donghae assured.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled. “I know, and I’m really grateful that you are.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He and Donghae spent some time chatting about mindless topics before settling into a comfortable silence as they waited for the hangar doors to slide open.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Doors opening,” Amber said suddenly, snapping Hyukjae out of his own mind.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Acknowledged,” Donghae replied. “Stealthing is powering on.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Stealthing powering up,” Hyukjae affirmed as he flipped the switches to turn it on. Visually, Donghae’s attacker seemed to shimmer before it disappeared from view, and Hyukjae knew the same process was happening to <em>Pioneer</em>. Thankfully, the signal beacons kept their ships from bumping into each other as they exited the ship, and Donghae hung back a little to let Hyukjae take the lead.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">True to his five-minute window, he and Donghae were able to achieve a high lunar orbit with no difficulties. He looked up and out of the far more massive window than he’d left with as they cleared the dark side of the moon and Earth rose into view. He checked his sensors, trying to match what his eyes were telling him. Tilting his head to the right, he tried to orient himself, and he stared when he found the Korean Peninsula, his head slowly righting itself. Seeing it on the projection table was one thing but seeing it in front of him made him pause, instantly struck with proof that Earth was in front of him.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“There are many large land masses,” Donghae said quietly, bringing Hyukjae back to the present.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah,” he replied. “The large island on the left is Australia. Many of the smaller islands as you move to the right are created by volcanoes from tectonic processes. The large land mass above everything is Asia.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae’s head tilted curiously. “That is the land mass you were born on?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yep. Do you see the island chain on the far right?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yes.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Follow the thee large islands to the left to where they almost end, then look for the small jut of land just above it.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah, I see that.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That’s where I was born,” he said quietly, his eyes filling with tears. Donghae could never take him to his and Amber’s birth world – neither of the twins remembered where they had been taken from or the names that they have been given at birth, if they had been given names at all – but he was at least able to share with Donghae his birthplace. “The water between the two… that’s the East Sea.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He felt truly privileged to see the slow, happy smile on Donghae’s face – even through a small hologram – as he saw the source of the name Hyukjae had given him. As he and Donghae orbited, he pointed out various features of both Earth and the Moon that he could remember, excited to share this portion of his life with someone he felt would be with him until the end of it. He checked the time, surprised that his hour window was almost up.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Okay, I have to turn off the stealthing and I’m going to turn on the communicator.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Understood. Inform when it is off.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Of course.” He took a deep breath, surprised that his hand was shaking a little, but he flipped stealthing off and turned on the communicator. “This is Commander Lee Hyukjae in <em>Pioneer</em>,” he announced into the silence.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">There was a hiss of static for a second. “Commander Lee, this is Mission Control.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Stand by for visual when I am clear of lunar surface, Mission Control.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Standing by, Commander Lee.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">As Earth rose, Hyukjae flipped the switch for the internal video feel, and he hoped it still worked – he was pretty sure that he’d hooked power up to it, so it was only debatable if the wiring had survived the literal crash landing. “Mission Control, this is Commander Lee. Am I being received?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The video monitor flickered for a second and then swam into life, giving him a somewhat blurry picture of the remembered control room. “You are, Commander Lee.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Nice to see you again, Mission Control. As asked, grocery list is available for viewing.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Acknowledged Commander.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae adjusted his orbit slightly to keep himself in line with Donghae’s still stealthed attacker, and he flicked his eyes over the weapons readout that he’d jerry rigged to fit on <em>Pioneer</em>’s more unwieldy frame.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What the <em>hell</em>…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae couldn’t help the amused snort. He guessed that they’d finally spotted the ship.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Commander Lee… what happened to <em>Pioneer</em>?” There were more than a few shocked faces and staring with heads cocked to the side.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The entire back end was sheared off as I exited the wormhole and crashed into a ship.” He shrugged. “The generator that formed the wormhole from the energy generated from the CME was destroyed at the same time as the engines.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“And… and the… additional parts…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Are of non-terrestrial origin, yes,” he said, confirming what everyone in the control room was thinking, wondering, hoping, and probably fearful of.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">As expected, there was a flurry of activity on the screen.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Stand by.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked at Donghae’s hologram and rolled his eyes silently. Donghae bit his lip as his shoulders shook while Hyukjae could see that Mission Control was still having a collective moment at being faced with undeniable proof that there were technologically advanced civilizations. Yawning, he blinked rapidly as the initial surge of excitement of seeing Earth again so closely wore off, leaving him tired as time dragged on. There was rapid movement on the screen, but with no sound, Hyukjae could only guess what they were doing.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Commander.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae blinked, forcing his attention to refocus at the crack of authority. He wasn’t surprised to see the military uniforms – looked like a general, or even an admiral maybe, if his rusty memory of US military ranks was right – but that quick look told him everything he really needed to know. Even though it felt like he’d been gone for sixty years instead of six, he could guess that barely anything had changed and even if Hyukjae gave the military the information or tech that they wanted, the Korean government was likely to be left out of the loop, which dimmed his chances of seeing his family. Disappointing, but he’d prepared himself for that eventuality.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yes?” he replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The current crew of the ISS have volunteered unanimously to perform an initial debrief, even over our objections. You have been cleared to proceed to the ISS.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae paused for a moment to think over it, then finally nodded once. “All right. Please inform the ISS crew that I will be arriving in about five minutes after I inform my crewmates, who will also likely have serious objections. <em>Pioneer</em> out.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Flicking the video and communicator off, he sat back. “Okay, it’s off and don’t bother telling me it’s a really bad idea because I know that. But it’s the only solution that makes absolutely no one happy.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“How is that?” Amber asked from the ship. He wasn’t surprised that she’d popped back up to the main room to listen and keep watch with a more powerful ship. Donghae was frowning off to his side.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The people on Earth aren’t happy because they can’t perform a full medical exam on me before having me talk to make sure I actually am me. You all aren’t happy because you’re not physically with me. But it’s also the only solution that protects everyone involved. The astronauts on the ISS are volunteering for what could turn into a suicide mission, but I’m not exposed to a force that can overwhelm me because there’s three to five people at most who have probably floating in free fall for several <em>farn</em>. The people on the ground are protected because the ISS is isolated in orbit.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae sighed loudly, looking a bit grumpy.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I dislike it, but I do understand the logic,” he said. “Twin?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We harbor the same feelings.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will follow you and maintain a patrol around the… ISS. It looks undefended,” Donghae finally said, giving into the logical solution.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That’s because it is,” Hyukjae said as he flipped the engines to boost him out of orbit. “It’s made for scientific research, not as a line of defense. This could take a while depending on how much we can communicate in one language,” he warned.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Understood.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do you have the supply list?” Song Qian asked as his dash lit up with the communique.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah I got it. All right Donghae, let’s go see what’s in store at the ISS.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Earth loomed larger in his window as he piloted closer, his instruments easily picking up the orbit of the ISS as well as a broadcasting frequency that he could use to communicate. “ISS, <em>Pioneer</em>, I’m on approach on the far side,” he said into the communicator.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“<em>Pioneer</em>, ISS, confirmed for approach. Welcome home, Commander.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled a little sadly as he cut the main engines to use the thrusters to match the ISS’s orbital speed. After a full minute of making sure he was matched and aligned, he rolled <em>Pioneer</em> to expose the opening along the bottom, nudging himself closer to the airlock. Once he’d docked and put <em>Pioneer</em> on standby, he unbuckled himself to open the hatch.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Hello?” he called out in his native Korean as the airlock slowly moved out of the way. He felt his stomach lurch a little as he transitioned back to weightless free fall. That was one thing he did not miss.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">A face floated into view. “Welcome back to the ISS, Commander,” came the reply in slightly accented English.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled. “Permission to come in?” he replied in kind.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Float on up.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Aside from the motion sickness induced nausea of free fall, Hyukjae found it relatively easy to sit through the brief medical exam where his heart rate, oxygen intake, and blood pressure were all duly recorded, and he gave the bare bones of his experiences while being lost in space, hinting at how powerful the Zhang Empire was, what sort of colonies and peoples existed in the galaxy, and a brief timeline of his disappearance.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">As another yawn caught him off guard, he finally told everyone that he needed to return to his ship.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“All right. I’ll forward this down to see what the higher-ups say.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae glanced out the windows, seeing blue water and white clouds swirling in storm systems below. “Does it matter?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Hm?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I can’t live there anymore,” he said as he gestured out the window. “I’d never be able to live in peace, I’d be constantly under medical review, constantly interrogated…” he shook his head, knowing all of the problems he would face if he tried to live on Earth once more. “I can’t deal with that, and I refuse to deal with that. I’m <em>from</em> Earth, but I definitely don’t <em>live</em> there anymore. If I can land, it’s only going to be long enough to trade.” He sighed gustily. “Look, I’ve got information every government on Earth needs, they have things that I want. If they’re willing to trade, they need to let me know within the next day.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Come Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One <em>farn</em> and some very vicious negotiating later, Hyukjae found himself copiloting their small cargo runner with Amber. The runner shook a little as it dropped through the atmosphere, just off the west coast of North America. The friction of their entry was mostly absorbed by the shielding and kept them from lighting up the sky in a giant fireball to be plastered across every news outlet within ten minutes. Once they were into the stratosphere, he turned their stealthing on and watched Hawaii zip by as they crossed the Pacific Ocean, hidden from visual view. Double checking the coordinates he’d been given, he started throttling back the power as Amber corrected for their dropping altitude as they approached the uninhabited island that had been designated as a landing site.</p><p> </p><p>“Donghae, we’re going to land soon. Is there anything in the area?”</p><p> </p><p>“One large ocean-going vessel, military, but several <em>li</em> off the coast.”</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed.”</p><p> </p><p>Well below anything that could be air traffic, Amber turned the stealth off and performed small corrections to gently touch down on solid ground. She placed the engines on standby before they both unbuckled themselves and unholstered their weapons. “Eight, as agreed,” she said, her eyes glowing briefly. “They are… nervous but non-threatening. There is more curiosity, but some of them are very cautious. They are keeping their bargain.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then we need to keep ours. I’ll go greet them.”</p><p> </p><p>Amber nodded. “I will be close.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae lowered the cargo door, both wanting it to hurry the hell up, but also appreciative of the time for his eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. Amber grunted a little.</p><p> </p><p>“Your star is very bright – almost painful,” she said, her eyes squinted.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah it’s hotter than a lot of other stars in the Empire, so more high energy light.” He finally took a deep breath of air, letting the taste of humidity and salt linger on his tongue before he stepped out slightly. He kept his weapon out, but lowered, and mostly hidden by his body. “Identify yourselves,” he called out in English and then in Korean, only spotting four faces, but given the multitude of legs, he guessed the Earth-bound were playing things safe with the military in front.</p><p> </p><p>He mentally matched names and faces to the information he’d been given earlier, and he smiled as his mother finally pushed past the front, thankfully sparing the admiral leaning heavily on a cane, and sprinted towards him. Shoving his weapon back in its holster, he stepped towards her, his arms opening and eyes filling with tears. She slammed against him with almost her full weight, and he stumbled a little from the impact before he steadied himself and curved around her shorter body.</p><p> </p><p>“Mom…” He couldn’t hold his emotions back any longer and started crying in earnest against her shoulder, feeling more arms encircle him. He gratefully soaked up the feeling of joy of seeing his family once more. By the time his tears had slowed, both of his parents were patting his back, and he pulled back, sniffling and wiping at the tears. “Hi,” he said, not bothering to cover his grin.</p><p> </p><p>His mother was still crying, but his father and sister were sniffling along with him. Hyukjae felt a relaxation of stress and guilt and depression he’d carried with him for so long, leaving him feeling much lighter and happier. He kept reaching out, touching his family, to reassure himself that they were real, that it wasn’t a dream. He forced his breathing to slow down before he looked over at the assorted military personnel – and one diplomat. A couple of them were wiping away a few tears from watching the emotional family reunion, but there were definitely glassy eyes in everyone else. “Come aboard,” he offered, barely remembering to copy the offer into English.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” he said, turning his head slightly. Amber melted out of the shadows with her weapon in hand but lowered. They’d agreed beforehand that she would be formally introduced by name with everyone else when they were back on the ship. Hyukjae also knew that there was some reluctance on the twins’ part of having their name spoken outside of the ship around strangers. They’d never elaborated why, but Hyukjae understood and went along with it. “We have our guests. While everyone climbs on, could you send the sled down so I can load the supplies?”</p><p> </p><p>Amber smiled and nodded once, sliding back into the shadows in the ship. As the sled hovered down the ramp at around shin height, he saw everyone stop and stare at it, and he was grateful for the additional time before he had to explain why he was speaking Korean to someone who wasn’t from Earth.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, I have to go get the supplies,” he said to his parents. “Go ahead and strap yourselves in before anyone can change their minds.”</p><p> </p><p>His mother kissed his cheek before patting the same area softly. His father and sister trailed behind her to get their luggage that was resting on the sandy beach. The military personnel were wary but picked up their bags and shuffled towards the ship. Hyukjae walked to the sled, grabbing the sensors off the holder, then started placing them on the tops and bottoms of the edges, along with the corners and sides, happy that everything was in one place so he wouldn’t have to do it multiple times, even if he was extremely fast and accurate with it from practice. Once he knew enough sensors were in place, he dropped the unused ones back into the holder before lifting his foot to shove the corner closest to the cargo down. The sensors registered, lighting up brightly, and as soon as Hyukjae took his foot off, the sled sent out a burst of gravity, centered on the sensors, which then pulled the cargo neatly onto the sled.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae checked around, making sure he hadn’t missed anything, and he finally pushed the sled slightly to send it on its pre-programmed sequence back onto the cargo runner. Amber was waiting for him at the door, watching everyone nervously buckle themselves in. “I’ll start up the engines,” he told her quietly.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded. “I will ensure the sled is docked properly.”</p><p> </p><p>Sliding back into one of the piloting chairs, he pulled the engines up from standby, but kept them idling since it was nearly impossible to fly anything but an attacker alone. Tapping at Donghae’s hologram initiated the communications link. “Attacker One, we have our guests and the cargo is loading. As soon as the sled is on, we can take off.”</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed,” Donghae replied, looking and sounding relieved, even though Hyukjae knew he’d been circling the island the entire time below the fighter planes that were also circling.</p><p> </p><p>“Korean?” Sora asked suddenly, startling Hyukjae for a second.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?” he replied, before realizing what exactly his sister was asking him. “Oh. No, he hears and understands that in his own language.” He reached up, pulling a tray out with eight tiny vials arranged neatly on it. “Here, take one of these, open the top and breathe this in through your nose. It’s a safe way to understand all the languages you can ever hear.” He repeated the instructions in English for everyone else.</p><p> </p><p>“What is it?” the medic who had introduced herself rather grumpily as Zoe Vasoncelos asked not only skeptically, but also a touch suspiciously.</p><p> </p><p>“From what I’ve been told, it’s a long-lived non-bacterial microscopic organism that will attach itself to the language center of your brain and instantaneously translate everything you hear in any language into a language you already know.” He repeated himself for his family and Park Seungchul, explaining it far more quickly in his native language. “I think they absorb a tiny amount of nutrients from your blood, but nothing more than the bacteria we have in our guts do.”</p><p> </p><p>Sora was the first to open her vial, followed by his parents. Petty Officer Samuel Latu and Seungchul looked at each other before shrugging, then opened the vials, sniffing deeply.</p><p> </p><p>“Look, there are more languages in the galaxy than you would ever be able to learn in fifteen lifetimes, and I have much better things to do than translate,” he told everyone else who were still looking at their vials skeptically. “I’m already struggling to remember to speak in English for you and some concepts I just cannot translate.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey that works!” Sora exclaimed.</p><p> </p><p>“I just understood you,” Samuel replied, looking surprised.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that’s cool,” his father muttered.</p><p> </p><p>Amber was starting to walk up to the seats from having secured the cargo in place, smirking slightly as everyone that hadn’t already sniffed at their vials. “We are ready to depart, please stay strapped in,” she warned. “We do not experience weightlessness, but we do not need you distracting us from piloting.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae strapped himself into his chair as he checked that they had an airtight seal and felt the small vibration as the engines fought gravity to get them airborne. Reaching over, he tapped the communicator that directed back to Mission Control. “Mission Control, this is <em>Cargo One</em>, we have loaded our passengers and supplies and are returning to our ship.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Cargo One</em>, Mission Control. Understood. We’ll see you in a few days, Commander.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae flipped the stealth generators on, hiding the cargo ship from visible view as Amber gained altitude. Hyukjae corrected and stabilized the flight path, avoiding the fighter jets, air traffic, and the myriad of satellites in orbit on the smaller holographic projector. Hovering just on the edge of space, Amber checked her readouts to make sure Donghae’s stealthed attacker was following before turning towards the Moon and boosting the engines. They’d agreed that they’d use the dark side to hide their return trip to Phobos even though they knew there was no way for anyone to track them once they’d stealthed.</p><p> </p><p>“Holy crap, how fast are we traveling?” came the startled question as the Moon began to loom larger in the screens.</p><p> </p><p>“Pretty fast,” Hyukjae answered, keeping his attention focused on piloting rather than looking back to see who spoke. “I gave up thinking about how many laws of physics we break constantly, and I’m sure many of the textbooks will have to be re-written when you get back. Please do not ask me about relativity, either. I haven’t really had much of a chance to try and work out how the Zhang managed to work around how this movement at greater speed doesn’t affect time.”</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nope, have fun breaking your brain on that one,” he replied blithely as Mars began to come into view.</p><p> </p><p>“Hyukjae?” Song Qian asked, the console lighting up.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, it’s us,” he replied, flipping the stealthing off to conserve power once they were close enough to Phobos for the cargo runner to be visually obscured.</p><p> </p><p>“The hangar is open for your arrival and cleared. We will greet your return there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” he replied as he started to slow their speed and provided fine corrections to get them into the hangar as Amber did the bulk of the piloting. Once the runner had nestled back into its spot, Hyukjae began shutting various systems down as Amber stood up to lower the ramp. Hyukjae followed as soon as the last system was on standby, which provided enough power to lower the runner’s ramp.</p><p> </p><p>He cursed as the door shuddered as it broke the initial seal but didn’t move beyond that. He and Amber shared a frustrated look before Hyukjae grabbed the non-slip gloves. “Lever?” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded quickly, a touch of thankfulness in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay give me a second to climb up.” Tugging the gloves on, he quickly scaled the bars that led up to the ceiling and over to the ram door. Swinging his legs, he got enough movement to give the door a solid kick as Amber shoved the manual lever down to lower the ramp.</p><p> </p><p>“Where is it stuck at?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shot a baleful look down at the admiral. “It’s not down there. Luckily for you –“ he grunted as he kicked at the door again. “This isn’t the first time it’s done this. The seal will crack, but the gears up here won’t move.” Feeling his hands moving in ways he didn’t want them to, he readjusted his grip and kicked at the ramp a couple more times. “Will you just fucking <em>move already</em>,” he snarled at the door, landing another kick.</p><p> </p><p>The ramp shuddered to life, lowering itself, and Hyukjae let go of the bar, almost sinking to the floor to absorb the impact.</p><p> </p><p>“That is so annoying,” he said to Amber as he shook his arms before putting the gloves back where he’d gotten them, knowing that they would be needed again.</p><p> </p><p>“That happen often?” Samuel Latu asked, looking at the ramp.</p><p> </p><p>“Often enough. It’s amazing the things you learn to deal with when you can’t exactly roll up to a dry dock for repairs.” Hyukjae began turning the sensors holding the cargo sled in place off. “Besides, that’s just an annoyance, it’s not going to kill us – we try to fix those things first.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you done?” Deokbon asked, arching her eyebrows in an all too familiar way as she pulled up the handle of her suitcase.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae tried for an innocent look. “Yes, Mom,” he replied, mildly chastised. Shoving the sled to get it moving towards the automated unloaders, he waved around the darkened hangar, only a few lights burning to light the way into the main interior of the ship. “Welcome to our humble home,” he said as he waved towards the airlock.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it just me,” Alex Nelson began, pressing a hand to her chest, “or is anyone else finding it a little hard to breathe?” Hyukjae knew that she was the official liaison from the US Embassy in Korea, but he’d completely forgotten what her actual job title was.</p><p> </p><p>Amber tilted her head. “We do not pressurize this hangar much. It requires far more power than we have available and is a waste of resources. Go through the airlock and it will be more comfortable.”</p><p> </p><p>“Great, add oxygen deprivation to my urgent need for a vacation,” Zoe muttered crankily as she stomped towards the airlock, the messy bun her hair had been pulled into bouncing with each step. She wrapped an arm around Alex’s waist and nearly hauled her along.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae looked at the admiral slowly shuffling towards the airlock, a fraction of pain pulling his eyebrows together. “If she kills you for interrupting her vacation, that’s not in any way my fault,” he said as he lifted the admiral’s bag to relieve some of the burden. Walking along at a slower than normal pace, he kept watch on the admiral to make sure he made it to the airlock without passing out.</p><p> </p><p>Stepping through, he stopped suddenly. Both Zhou Mi and Song Qian had pulled on overcoats of some of their colorful formal wear over the heat-retaining dark clothes they all used on a day-to-day basis. Song Qian had applied some of her red makeup pencil to the time giver’s mark just above her eyebrows just enough to show the outline, but not filled in. Zhou Mi had gathered up the longer bits of his hair into a small ponytail to hold one of his fancier hairpins in place, the dark blue crystals matching the darker blues of his overcoat.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi stepped forward slightly, keeping his hands folded in front of his stomach, and the light shimmered with the light blue fabric details of his overcoat. “Welcome to our ship,” he smoothly said. “Please accept my greetings to you, the people of Earth, from the prosperous and magnificence of the people under the Zhang Empire.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae waited a beat, already prepared to return the formalized greeting. But Seungchul straightened a bit before bowing slightly from the waist.</p><p> </p><p>“The people of Earth return your greeting, and we hope that our exchange of knowledge is beneficial to us both.” Hyukjae looked over, impressed. It wasn’t the exact phrasing, but the meaning of it was close enough to fulfill any formal greeting. Hyukjae wondered if he’d underestimated just how quick on the uptake the man was.</p><p> </p><p>“A hope that I share. I look forward to knowing the people of the planet that our blood-bound brother comes from.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae noticed the curious glances, but he’d at least do his part with the introductions. At least he would have until Alex bowed lightly. “May I present Admiral Don Thorn, Doctor Zoe Vasconcelos, Petty Officer Samuel Latu, and myself, Alex Nelson, of the United States of America. Lieutenant Park Seungchul of the Republic of Korea, Lee Kanghun, Kang Deokbon, and Lee Sora. They are also of the Republic of Korea and are Commander Lee’s immediate family.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae had to give Alex credit – she definitely knew how to introduce people. He guessed her work at the Embassy was something similar, which would have made it much easier for her to rattle it all off.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi shot him a look, both of them amused at how Hyukjae’s admittedly awkward replies were interrupted before they could even come out.</p><p> </p><p>“This is Zhou Mi, Song Qian, Donghae and Amber,” Hyukjae finally said, indicating who was who. “They’re some of the first people I met after I went through the wormhole and helped me get adjusted to the Zhang Empire.”</p><p> </p><p>“Am – oh is that why you wanted this?” Deokbon said, reaching down to unzip the outer pocket of her suitcase, pulling out a small box.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, thank you,” Hyukjae replied effusively as he took the box from his mother’s outstretched hand. “Donghae’s seen his name,” he told Amber as he opened the box. He smiled as he pulled up on the delicate gold chain, revealing the perfectly oval amber pendant at the end of it. “This is yours,” he said, watching Amber’s eyes grow wide. The amber flashed a bit in the light, letting her see the dark, almost red color at the bottom transitioning to a bright, clear gold at the top. He reminded himself to thank his mother for taking his admittedly brief and cryptic request for a piece of amber jewelry that looked like an eye and she had made a minor miracle happen by finding the perfect piece within a day for him.</p><p> </p><p>He stumbled as Amber launched herself to him, hugging him tightly, and he felt a few tears land against his neck, tears she would want to hide from total strangers. “Thank you,” she whispered to him. He kept his reply in his own mind, knowing that she could feel his love as he hugged her back.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s yours,” he told her as he pulled back a little. “The chain should be long enough that it won’t get in the way and it would be difficult for anyone to grab at it,” he said as he unhooked the clasp and refastened it around her neck.</p><p> </p><p>She reached up, cupping his face as she pressed their foreheads together for a few seconds before pulling back, a wide smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s get you all to your rooms – we’ll be eating soon and then we have some time to rest up before we get around to why you’re up here,” Hyukjae said, gesturing down the hallway. Donghae caught his eyes and jerked his head a little, indicating that he was going to leave. Hyukjae nodded a little. He’d get everyone settled in, but as soon as he could, he was going to find his lover. He caught a quick glimpse of his mother’s speculative look at Donghae, but her face rapidly cleared as everyone picked up their bags.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Hyukjae said, starting to walk down the hallway in one direction as the rest of the crew took the other way to get back to what they were doing. “Just to let you know, there’s a few places on the ship that are entirely off limits…”</p><p> </p><p>/</p><p> </p><p>He found Donghae on the officer’s quarters level that they’d converted into a large, open area with training areas as soon as he’d shown everyone where they could sleep and the basic functions of using the Zhang version of a toilet and <em>then</em> could gracefully run away. Donghae was beating away at a training dummy, and from the moves, Hyukjae could tell that he was almost done, so he waited. With a final punch, Donghae stopped and looked at him, arching his eyebrows. Hyukjae strolled up to him, looking appreciatively over the strong and yet lean form, covered lightly in sweat. He stopped a small bit away from Donghae, pressing him back against the dummy and grinned. “Hi,” he said, playfully rubbing his nose against Donghae’s.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” Donghae replied, the corners of his lips tilting up. “I would have thought you would be very occupied with the governmental people and your family.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae scrunched his nose. “I ran away. Hopefully once we eat and have our rest, they’ll have settled down from the giddiness of being on a spaceship with non-Earth humans.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae grinned. “You wished to protect your species.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah I’m kind of regretting that right now,” Hyukjae muttered, mostly sarcastic, but some part of him utterly serious.</p><p> </p><p>“So vicious,” Donghae teased, his fingers drifting around Hyukjae’s waist.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I can show you <em>vicious</em>,” Hyukjae teased back, ducking his head slightly to press his lips against Donghae’s. As always, their lips easily parted, and Hyukjae moaned happily as his tongue plunged into Donghae’s mouth. He’d always kept a thought safely in the back of his mind that it seemed that his “accident” as termed by the Earth-bound had been ordained to get him to Donghae, since neither of them were in any position to meet otherwise.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae looked far more relaxed as their lips parted, and Hyukjae grinned when he saw Donghae’s eyes. The normally brown irises were already starting to be rimmed with the bright blue that would eventually dominate as Donghae reached orgasm.</p><p> </p><p>“Your eyes are turning,” he muttered as he placed soft kisses down the side of Donghae’s face.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Donghae mumbled back, no embarrassment to be found any longer. “If you are planning to go back to your officials and family soon, I would strongly suggest not proceeding any further.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae snorted. “I’m thinking about engaging in a different form of diplomacy. One that preferably involves a lack of clothing for both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae smirked. “That sounds like a productive use of time before our meal.” His eyes flickered over Hyukjae’s shoulder. “Others are coming down the hallway. We should leave now if we are going to have sex.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae laughed and pulled back a little. “Yeah, just try not to scream loud enough for the entire ship to hear you again. I’d like to be able to look at my family still.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae shook his head. “Sex is an activity; I still fail to see how it is such a taboo subject among your people.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged and followed Donghae down into the former prison floor, not really wanting to distract either of them with the entire conversation of how it was more of a taboo subject to be spoken of in same gendered relationships. He had absolutely no clue if anyone aboard was truly homophobic, and he wanted to protect Donghae from that ugly side of Earth’s cultures. It was bad enough with him growing up with it. They slipped out of the room and half ran to the lift that would take them down to the prison level.</p><p> </p><p>He breathed a little sigh of relief when they didn’t run into anyone and they stepped through the permanently opened heavy doors that would have sealed off the prisoners from the rest of the ship.</p><p> </p><p>Both of them were starting to strip even before the cell door that they called theirs had closed behind them. The intentional holes at strategic intervals only offered the barest hint of privacy, but Hyukjae had learned to adapt. In a concession to the temperature of the floor, they left their shoes and pants in lumps beside their sleeping pad before nearly tumbling down onto the soft surface completely naked. The pad itself was warmed, blocking the freezing cold of the metal below it from chilling them. Their hands were already busy on each other’s skin, seeking out known erogenous zones even as they tried to pull themselves closer together.</p><p> </p><p>He pressed his lips against Donghae’s, craving the closeness, and he felt a little more <em>normal</em> than he had ever since they had found themselves in the solar system. The small cell he shared with Donghae was <em>home</em> for him now, and he felt a little giddy as he realized he was not only home with Donghae, but also home with his birth planet. Donghae softly stroked the scars along his rib cage, and he lightly tugged on Donghae’s hair, bringing their lips back into contact.</p><p> </p><p>“How do you want to come?” he asked as soon as he could. Hyukjae knew that they didn’t have enough time to themselves for Donghae to fuck him, but he hoped that would change soon.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae grinned, the blue rims intensifying a bit, glowing eerily. Hyukjae laughed as Donghae rolled him onto his back and straddled his waist. “Like this,” he said, already shifting his hips back. “I too look forward to when we have more time allotted to ourselves,” he growled softly, taking deeper breaths in through his nose. “I will enjoy marking and claiming you as my own again.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shuddered at the low promise, his body reacting as if Donghae actually was inside him, filling him up, giving him the wildness within Donghae’s mind and body. “Soon,” he promised. He would <em>make</em> time for themselves while the rest of the galaxy – the rest of the universe – could go fuck themselves while he got fucked by Donghae. He grabbed their ever-present bottle of lubricant, warming it up between his hands as Donghae dipped down, licking over a nipple, then lightly biting at it. Hyukjae moaned, his hips jerking upwards a bit. As soon as he’d gotten two fingers coated in the slippery substance, he reached around Donghae’s back. He watched Donghae push himself back up, his eyebrows pulling together slightly, and his mouth fall open as Hyukjae gently pushed one, then two, fingers inside Donghae’s body.</p><p> </p><p> “I love watching you,” Hyukjae said, reverently looking over at every twitch of Donghae’s body, committing every noise to memory as he slowly stretched his fingers apart.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae looked down at him. “You love me,” he returned simply, the softness in his voice belying his own feelings for Hyukjae in return.</p><p> </p><p>“Always,” Hyukjae agreed, stretching his lover out enough to slide in another finger.</p><p> </p><p>Most words left them as they let the pleasure take over, moans and gasps of each other’s names saying more than words ever could. As Hyukjae pushed inside Donghae, Donghae moaned lowly, throwing his head back. Hyukjae knew what a mark of trust Donghae chose to give him, making himself completely vulnerable, and Hyukjae let him control the pace. The initial slow roll of hips as they locked eyes soon gave way to sharper thrusts downward. Hyukjae stared up at Donghae, the pleasure contorting his face, and he thought he’d never seen anyone so gorgeous.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae’s eyes opened, fully blue and glowing. The color looked natural and yet not, the ethereal glow radiating outward, and Hyukjae moaned in the back of his throat. Donghae leaned down and captured his lips in a sensual, sloppy kiss as Hyukjae brought his knees up to get some leverage for himself. When Donghae twitched on top of him, he kept that angle and drove steady thrusts upwards into his more than willing lover. Donghae’s back arched suddenly, a cry breaking out of his throat, echoing through the cells and down the hall.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Hyukjae</em>,” he whined, the glow intensifying.</p><p> </p><p>One more hard thrust had both of them shouting, Donghae collapsing down and breathing hard, smearing his come all over Hyukjae’s stomach. Hyukjae looped his arms up, holding Donghae in place as he placed soft kisses along the side of Donghae’s face towards his ear. “Want me to pull out?” he whispered.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae shook his head against Hyukjae’s chest. “Just for a short time, please?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Hyukjae replied as he ran his fingers through Donghae’s hair soothingly, letting Donghae and himself savor their orgasms and begin to slowly relax their muscles. When Donghae finally shifted, Hyukjae couldn’t resist running his hands down Donghae’s sides.</p><p> </p><p>“We should refresh ourselves and then go find our guests to have a meal,” Donghae said, his eyes dark and calm again.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae sighed, wanting nothing more than to shove half of their <em>guests</em> out of the nearest airlock, but he nodded and followed Donghae to the small cleaning unit, having to step into their shoes briefly to get there. He absolutely <em>hated</em> the air-powered cleaning, and he took every opportunity to take an actual water shower when he could find one. As the pressurized air dislodged the dirt, sweat, oils, lubricant, Donghae’s come, and various other contaminants off his skin, he scrunched his nose. Hopefully they could stay long enough to get power back to the water filtration to use the luxurious water shower on the ship.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae giggled as the air cut off and kissed him lightly before stepping out. “Hopefully soon.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae laughed. “I think everyone knows my hatred of these.”</p><p> </p><p>“Useful, but yes, annoying,” Donghae agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Stepping back into their shoes that they had left at the edge of the cleaning unit, they picked up their clothes where they had left them and redressed themselves. They went up to the crew area to see if the auto loaders had been turned on for long enough to deliver the food. To his surprise, his mother was already there with Amber who watched his mother mixing something in a bowl attentively, and his mouth instantly watered as soon as the smell of the kimchi hit him.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you cooking?” he asked greedily as he took in long breaths of the tasty, familiar smell. Deokbon hummed an affirmative and Hyukjae smiled. “What do you need me to do?” He already knew that he’d do almost anything to get a good-sized portion of his mother’s cooking again.</p><p> </p><p>“Just answer me if Donghae is your boyfriend or not,” came the quick reply. Amber smiled at him and vacated her spot to go to her twin to help him clear off the table of their ever-present food cubes.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae blushed deeply, but he smiled. “Yeah, I guess you could call him that.”</p><p> </p><p>Deokbon looked up at him curiously. “What do you call him?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae watched Donghae move around, and felt the contentment and love suffuse him. “Everything,” he answered softly. “He’s the one I want to live for,” he said, remembering the advice he’d gotten so long ago from her. He felt the soft pats to his face and he leaned into his mother’s touch.</p><p> </p><p>“Now I understand even more why you can’t and won’t come home.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you mad?” he asked, glancing down.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re <em>alive</em>. I was hurt initially, yes, but I understand why you can really only come back for short visits. You’ve found another family out of necessity, and you want to stay with them. Park Seungchul also did say it would be doubtful if you could ever live quietly by yourself, but you’d never be able to live with him down there too,” she said as she mixed the kimchi with a gloved hand.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae smiled. “I don’t have to lie out here either,” he said, remembering the crashing relief that no one thought his attraction to men was weird or disgusting, and it was just a normal part of life at most places he’d seen. “We call each other what we are, we don’t have to hide behind anything.”</p><p> </p><p>“I suspect that brings you far more comfort than what you want to admit to as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, it does. It’s nice.”</p><p> </p><p>Deokbon nodded. “Then no, we’re not mad. We’re just so grateful that you’re alive.” She looked around. “I need bowls.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll get them,” he said as he stood up. “When did you make the kimchi?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yesterday, but since it’s been flying all around, I just wanted to make sure it was still mixed properly.”</p><p> </p><p>The prospect of anything other than food cubes had Zhou Mi and Song Qian quickly showing up to provide any assistance. After a while his father appeared, sheepishly admitting that it took him a while to remember how to use the toilet when he showed up with Sora, whose piqued look started to smooth out at the smell of food.</p><p> </p><p>Sora tugged him away from setting up seating to slip him out in the hallway. “Hyukjae… I don’t know how, but they all know about you and Donghae being… involved. I overheard them talking and…”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae smiled and gave his older sister a hug, even as anxiety shot through him. “Noona, they can’t do anything to me anymore. I’m not under their command, either still listed as missing in space or dead, and it’s doubtful that they’ll change any of that just to fire me or demote me since it would cause way too many questions. The <em>only</em> reason they’re even here is because I needed to see you and Mom and Dad and I couldn’t leave without at least telling you what to do if a flagship suddenly shows up.”</p><p> </p><p>Sora bit her lip, her eyebrows quirking for a second. “Is that bad?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae sighed. “Yeah noona. It’s bad. There’s some cool stuff, but there’s also the really, really nasty stuff to go along with it. I’ll tell you all about it after we eat and sleep, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” she agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry about them though. Out there… it doesn’t matter who I love wherever I go. And really if they’re that much of a homophobe, I can always introduce them to the nearest airlock, assuming Donghae doesn’t beat me to it,” he said, only partially joking. She looked up at him, a little shocked, but finally smiled at his rueful grin.</p><p> </p><p>He’d honestly forgotten how much his sense of humor had been warped from the last time any of his family had seen him. He knew that he was far more morally ambiguous, and he’d probably need to watch what and how he said things – at least until he could explain why.</p><p> </p><p>“Hyukjae? Is everything well?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae smiled at Donghae. “Everything’s fine.”</p><p> </p><p>“Noona was just feeling overprotective of you both,” Sora told Donghae. “Is the food ready?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he replied, a touch of shyness in his voice. Sora patted his shoulder as she walked back into the crew area, but Donghae’s hand on his arm stilled him when he was going to follow. “Noo–“ Donghae tried, his tongue tripping over the unfamiliar word that wasn’t translated either correctly or at all.</p><p> </p><p>“Noona,” Hyukjae said slowly. “It’s how you respectfully call an older sister in my language. Amber would use eonnie.”</p><p> </p><p>“Noona, noona,” Donghae repeated, trying to become more familiar with the word. “Noona,” he finally said, nodding to indicate that he had the pronunciation and meaning assimilated.</p><p> </p><p>“Perfect,” Hyukjae praised, tugging Donghae close. “That was noona saying you’re family by the way.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae smiled and shyly ducked his head. “Really?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I can tell Mom and Dad already like you.”</p><p> </p><p>With a happy noise, Donghae pushed forward and gave Hyukjae an enthusiastic, but chaste, kiss. “What about Amber?” he asked, only somewhat jokingly as he pulled back.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae laughed. “I don’t know if they’ve worked out that Amber is your twin sister yet. I haven’t told them, but I know they’d accept her just as easily as you.” He caught Donghae’s face in his hands and pressed their foreheads together. “You both have survived, and you both are loved the way you are now,” he reassured. He’d repeat those words until the end of time without complaint for as long as Donghae needed to hear them and take comfort from them.</p><p> </p><p>They stayed there for a second before Donghae brushed his lips against Hyukjae’s, the comfort of a kiss far too much of a temptation to miss out on.</p><p> </p><p>At the soft, high <em>eep</em>, Hyukjae jerked, his hand instinctively going right for his weapon, and Donghae already had his in hand when Hyukjae caught his wrist to still any movement. “Come and join us for a meal,” he offered calmly to the five people who had come to a halt slightly down the hallway, even though it felt as if his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. He was guessing Alex was the one to make the noise, given the covered mouth and slightly judging looks being shot her way.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae relaxed slightly and gave Hyukjae another kiss before slipping back inside. Hyukjae waited a moment to make sure everyone had moved close enough to hear him as he blocked the way in, his eyes narrowing a little. “I’ll give you some helpful advice while you’re on this ship. Do not ever try to sneak up on any one of us, we do not have pleasant reactions to it. And if any of you have any hang ups about what you saw or what you think you know about Donghae and I having a relationship, you’d better keep it tied up in your own head very well because if you can’t, not one of us has any reservations about shoving you naked out of an airlock.” With that, Hyukjae spun on one heel, military perfect, and left the shocked and blank looks behind him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Don't Recall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hyukjae woke up, still disquieted, and curling into the space Donghae’s body had left on their sleeping pad under their blanket, his toes sticking out into the cold air. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths and tried to re-center himself. Having to concern himself with homophobia, with his own faults and morality, and worry that his family would have a hard time accepting him as he was at the present instead of still being the person they knew didn’t make for the most restful state. He wanted to be as calm as possible while having to relive those first days he’d appeared, the hard times through it all, and how he was going to try and convey all of that information. He’d have to at least have some structure in his mind about what order he would need to recall things in, but he’d definitely have to rely on the others when his memory was blank.</p><p> </p><p>He felt fingers running through his hair and he smiled at Donghae as he opened his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you rest well?” Donghae asked, slightly concerned.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged. “Not really, just too much going on up here,” he said, gesturing at his head. “I have to try to figure out how to explain things in a way that they can understand why I made some choices the way I did, how to really express how the Zhang are dangerous… but also generous and a million other things. There’s so much to say…”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae pulled him close and looped a leg over both of Hyukjae’s, pulling the blanket up. “I am certain that you will find the words with our support and presence with you, and if words fail, we can supply them for you. You have said that you are Earth-born, but you do not live there any longer. That does require adopting a new means of decision making and they should begin to understand when we add our stories to yours.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae drifted his hand up Donghae’s back, trying to get himself sorted back out. “You don’t have to be there, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae shrugged. “Our life stories add to yours. Twin and I are not so selfish as to wish our own fate upon others, and both Zhou Mi and Song Qian have seen behind the façade of high Zhang society. We will combine our words for which there are none, and if we are there, we all share our horrors together.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae smiled a little. “And it makes them a little less horrible to bear.”</p><p> </p><p>“To share our pains lessens it; our joys increased because of it.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae smiled and kissed Donghae softly, both of them relaxing into the familiarity of each other.</p><p> </p><p>“Awake?” Amber asked softly from the cell that neighbored theirs, looking barely awake with her hair sticking up in odd places, her blankets making a cocoon around her.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Twin,” Donghae replied.</p><p> </p><p>“Would you like for me to gather everyone so you can have sex before we inform them?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae snickered to himself.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you wish to have sex?” Donghae asked him, moving a bit closer.</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, I’d rather be totally with you when we have sex than having a part of my mind distracting both of us with worry,” Hyukjae replied after thinking for a few seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae’s smile was wide. “Then let us inform your people first so that you are free of worry while we are having sex.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae didn’t kid himself that he didn’t fall a little bit more in love with Donghae just from seeing him smile, and he’d actually been looking forward to the <em>farn</em> rotation of watch – both he and Donghae would have a generous amount of time to themselves after Hyukjae served watch while the twins did some of the outer hull repairs. “We’re going to have a lot of time to ourselves later,” he promised lowly. “I want to have you inside me.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae’s eyes flashed for a second. “I will enjoy bringing you that pleasure when we get back. Though I am certain Twin will now want to get this repair shift done quickly since I will be soaked in desire for you.”</p><p> </p><p>Amber snorted. “You usually are, Twin,” she replied drolly as she stood up on her sleeping pad. “I have become accustomed to your incessant desire for each other so that it does not make me as uncomfortable as it used to.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, so you are able to become accustomed to sexual desire,” Donghae teased, then laughed as Amber glared at him as she pulled her shirt on. “Perhaps within more cycles, you would feel desire yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae laughed as the twins needled each other, their playful taunts never turning mean-spirited as they all pulled on the rest of their clothes. Hyukjae had to admit some fondness for their little squabbles, knowing that they did it out of pure enjoyment and that it would never be taken too far. They liked to joke that there must be some benefit to having a telepathic connection with one’s twin.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it time to wake?” Zhou Mi asked sleepily, looking – at least for him – worn out.</p><p> </p><p>“Go back to sleep,” Hyukjae told him. “You were up for nearly a full <em>farn</em> straight.”</p><p> </p><p>“Join us when you awake naturally,” Donghae added.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi just hummed a negative. “If it is time to inform your people, I will attend. I heard that there is a stimulant beverage…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Coffee,” Hyukjae immediately identified. “Hardly anyone in the military will go anywhere except into combat without some. It’s really bitter, but I’ll try and get you a cup.”</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi nodded, raising himself up enough to pull on his shirt. “My thanks,” he mumbled.</p><p> </p><p>“I will begin gathering others into the crew area,” Amber said, moving out of her cell. Hyukjae noticed that there were places that were sticking up weirdly all through the back and the sides and one spot near her temple from where she was sleeping.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey. Your hair,” Hyukjae said. With it only being the five of them on the ship, no one really cared about each other’s state of dress or undress or how they looked after sleeping, but they gave each other reminders to keep up with their appearances so that it would be easier to blend in or evade detection if they weren’t disheveled.</p><p> </p><p>Her hands tried to smooth down any unruly bits of her hair that were sticking up oddly, and she looked at him, wide-eyed. It gave her a far more innocent and youthful look than what she actually was. “Better?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae smoothed down the one bit towards her temple that always had a habit of being missed, affection boiling over. “There.”</p><p> </p><p>“My thanks.”</p><p> </p><p>He and Donghae wound up being one of the first ones into the crew area, only Zoe, Alex, and Song Qian already there. Zoe looked like she was trying to become a microscope with the intensity of how she was staring at the food cube in her hand.</p><p> </p><p>“I hope you’re looking for nutritional value instead of taste in that thing,” Hyukjae said, announcing his and Donghae’s arrival. Zoe looked up, her lips twitching a bit.</p><p> </p><p>Alex looked at the food cube curiously as she rolled her natural-kept hair into a bun, sticking pins in her hair to hold it in place. “Do they taste bad?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, there is no taste at all,” Song Qian replied. “Did you have a pleasant rest?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged as he snagged a seat near Alex, leaving one chair between them as he knew Amber would probably sit on that side of him. He felt a lot more generous towards Alex since she had actually pulled him aside after cleaning up to apologize about interrupting, and he had a good laugh at her rueful comment about knowing far too much about friends and colleagues from having the worst timing in the world and her noise had become habitual. “It was restful,” he replied simply, knowing Song Qian would pick up the context. “Hey, did you guys bring coffee with you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t but either the admiral or anyone else probably would have,” Zoe answered. “I’m trying to work myself down off of the amount that I had been drinking. But that’s probably out of the window soon.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae raised his eyebrows. “That busy?”</p><p> </p><p>“Afghanistan.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. Wait, you guys are <em>still</em> there?”</p><p> </p><p>Zoe replaced the food cube in the bowl, her mouth turning down. “I have to wonder if we will be for the rest of eternity. God, I was <em>really</em> looking forward to my leave.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why did you get tapped to come along then?” Hyukjae asked curiously, noting that Zoe seemed to be half on the verge of breaking down or sleeping at any point.</p><p> </p><p>“My specialization is actually in microbiology and epidemiology, which translates well into xenobiology, but emergency trauma has been needed a little more, so that’s what I’ve been doing.”</p><p> </p><p>“You are a time giver?” Donghae asked curiously, leaning into Hyukjae.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae noticed the quick look of Donghae’s towards the door. “It’s kind of being a doctor out there,” he said just before the admiral shuffled in. Zoe started to stand up but relaxed back down into her seat at his wave, readjusting her jacket.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have hot water on this ship?” he asked, his voice gruff but not unkind, as he lowered himself into the closest chair.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll get you some if I can snag a cup off you,” Hyukjae said with a grin.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure I can find it within myself to part with some of my precious magic bean juice. Doc? Ms Nelson?”</p><p> </p><p>Zoe shook her head. “If there’s hot water, I’m going to grab some of my tea. I really have to cut down on the caffeine intake.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I brought some tea too,” Alex said, standing up.</p><p> </p><p>“These are stimulant beverages?” Song Qian asked curiously.</p><p> </p><p>“They have a little caffeine in them, but not as much as what coffee does,” Zoe said, standing as well. “We’ll be right back.”</p><p> </p><p>“They’re native plants on Earth,” Hyukjae explained. “Tea could be compared to <em>vekju</em>, but there’s really no equivalent to coffee. Caffeine is what we call the primary stimulant chemical in both of them.”</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian made a soft noise of understanding. “It has been some time since we have been able to enjoy some <em>vekju</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hopefully we can pick some up soon,” Hyukjae said, standing to get some water heated. He looked up from the kettle-type appliance as he heard noise at the door. “If you brought coffee, go get it, I’m heating up some water,” he told both Samuel and Seungchul, unsurprised when both of them spun immediately to head back out without even missing a beat in their quiet conversation.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it that popular of a beverage?” Donghae asked, amused.</p><p> </p><p>“Among us military types, yes,” the admiral replied, pulling a small plastic bag from his pocket, full of packets of instant coffee along with a few pill bottles. “Though a good portion of the civilian population also drinks at least a cup a day.”</p><p> </p><p>Once the water was heated enough, Hyukjae carried it back to the table, setting it in the center before grabbing some cups. Stretching back out in his chair, he caught the admiral rubbing at his knee for a second.</p><p> </p><p>“Does your joint cause you pain?” Song Qian asked, having also caught the movement.</p><p> </p><p>The admiral sighed as he filled a cup with hot water, sliding a packet of instant coffee across the table to Hyukjae. “The damn thing finally gave out on me and I just got it replaced not too long ago. It’s mostly just stiffness from cold that bothers me than any real pain.”</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian hummed. “Please see me if the pain becomes worse. There are not many medications that work with your physiology, but we have experimented with more traditional treatments that do reduce pains.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re a doctor?”</p><p> </p><p>“Time giver, yes,” she replied, gesturing at the light mark in between her eyebrows. “I find it interesting that your time givers are not marked – how are they recognized quickly?”</p><p> </p><p>“They have a certain set of clothes that most people recognize, or if they’re in normal clothes and there’s an emergency, they’ll tend to announce themselves,” Hyukjae supplied, smiling at his sister as she wandered in. “Hi noona.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hi yourself, monkey,” she teased, and he wrinkled his nose at her playfully. “Hi Donghae,” she said, sliding into the seat next to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi Noona,” Donghae repeated with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>The admiral looked up. “Oh, so you two are together,” he said, completely offhand.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae was interrupted by Donghae’s hand on his arm, but Sora immediately bristled. “Is there a problem with that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nope. I just like knowing who I’m working with and what contingencies to plan for,” the admiral replied, not even beginning to be put out by Sora’s tone.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae tilted his head. “You are unperturbed by this information, and yet both Hyukjae and Noona are anticipating difficulties. Are relationships such as ours uncommon on your world?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae sighed, rubbing his hand over his face as his parents came in, his mother in a conversation with Amber, and everyone else quickly on their heels. The admiral cocked his head, probably confused by Donghae’s statement, but he waved his hand a bit. Donghae relaxed back down into his seat, even as Amber frowned as she sat down next to Hyukjae. Zhou Mi sat down heavily next to Song Qian, still tiredly blinking his eyes. Hyukjae mixed the coffee up and pushed the cup to Zhou Mi.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi tentatively picked up the cup, sniffing at it before taking an experimental sip. His face twisted up, and Hyukjae couldn’t help the laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“I told you it was bitter,” he teased.</p><p> </p><p>“I was not expecting that taste. I have consumed many bitter beverages, but this is… different.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s something of an acquired taste,” Samuel said, sipping at his own. “We also don’t have any sweeteners on us to lighten it, so there’s that.”</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian took a delicate sip, her reaction much the same as Zhou Mi’s, but she passed the cup to Amber, who slid it immediately over to Donghae, wincing. Donghae took a sip and hummed. “It is strong… but tasty,” he finally pronounced as he took another sip.</p><p> </p><p>Zoe huffed a laugh and poured half of her cup into an empty one. “Here, try this, see if it’s like… what was it called again?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Vekju</em>,” Song Qian replied, taking a sip. “Oh. It tastes different, but it is similar enough to <em>vekju</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi nodded as soon as he’d sipped at the tea. “It is very similar to <em>vekju</em>. Amber?”</p><p> </p><p>Amber shrugged, sniffing lightly. “This is not nearly as strong smelling as what Twin has.” She twisted her lips after she’d taken a small sip, passing the cup back to Zhou Mi. “It is not unpleasant. Somewhat… floral?”</p><p> </p><p>“Jasmine,” Zoe said, nodding.</p><p> </p><p>“All right might as well get this going. Your report, Commander?” the admiral said, his fingers twisting his cup around.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want me to go in chronological order, or in order of threat?” Hyukjae returned seriously.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s go chronological,” Seungchul said as Alex pulled out a small notebook and a pen. “It should at least let us get used to terms and groups.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae leaned back. “Starting from my last aborted contact with Mission Control, I remember that I wasn’t in the wormhole for very long, but as I exited, I was ejected out at a high rate of speed and spinning. I was attempting to get control back when I nearly ran right into a Zhang Empire flagship – not that I knew what it was at the time – and even though I tried to avoid the massive spikes they surround their flight decks with, <em>Pioneer</em> wound up getting impaled just aft of the pilot compartment. Because all of that angular momentum had to go somewhere, it wound up shearing off the entire back end, engines, wormhole generator and all, which then flew right into the flight deck and impacted,” he said while using his hands to gesture at some of the movement directions. “All of the shrapnel from the explosion then came back around to hit what was left of <em>Pioneer</em>. I escaped physically unscathed, but more than a few bits of shrapnel tore through the leg of my suit, and I passed out. I remember waking up kind of briefly while I was being interrogated. That was when the Zhang realized that I couldn’t understand a damn thing they were saying, and they shoved the translator bugs up my nose.”</p><p> </p><p>“Any clue if they got any information?” the admiral asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Not really. Keep in mind I was barely conscious and really loopy from hypoxia and being exposed to vacuum. All they really got was my name and that I was from a world they’d never heard of before.”</p><p> </p><p>“There are many worlds within the Empire, and nearly impossible to learn the names of all, so it is not uncommon to encounter someone from a world you are unaware of,” Zhou Mi added. “The world would be noted in a report and passed on to superiors, who would then check with the Imperial Astronomers to verify a location. Though it would be slightly suspicious that Hyukjae did not have the translators already.”</p><p> </p><p>“What happened after that?”</p><p> </p><p>“I woke up in the middle of a riot,” Hyukjae replied dryly, leveling a glance at his smirking lover while Song Qian, Zhou Mi, and Amber made various noises of amusement. Donghae, for his part, just took another sip of coffee as his smirk spread into a full smile.</p><p> </p><p>“You started a riot?” Seungchul asked, looking up from his own small notebook.</p><p> </p><p>“The former captain should not have attempted to take either Twin or Song Qian for his own, especially as he should have been aware of the fate that awaited him should Zhou Mi or the House of Song discover that insult,” Donghae said, completely level. “I only hastened his death and began to overpower the crew loyal to him.”</p><p> </p><p>“You provided him a far kinder death than I would have,” Zhou Mi said, to which Donghae only hummed an agreeing noise. “His only hope of survival would have been to transport us directly to the capital and left us there before I woke from the sedatives. Even if I had been separated, I would have returned for you as soon as I could, and I would have been even less kind.”</p><p> </p><p>“He paid for that arrogance, and we remained unharmed,” Amber said. “Twin was able to provide enough distraction for you to wake.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, are you actually twins?” Zoe asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Amber and Donghae chorused. “Our genetics have verified that we share maternal markers and are the same age, therefore the result of one pregnancy,” Amber added.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that when you came to command the ship?” the admiral continued.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. This is the same prisoner ship we were detained on, and we took it for our own,” Donghae said.</p><p> </p><p>“So how many people were originally here?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged. “I think there was a full crew, so something around seventy plus officers and crew, and maybe… what, one hundred fifty to two hundred prisoners?”</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian nodded. “Many were detained at the same time as we were. The prison level was entirely full, and some were detained in the cargo holds. Zhou Mi was placed in an officer’s room in accordance with his status.”</p><p> </p><p>“Former,” Zhou Mi said.</p><p> </p><p>“Your patriarch has demanded your return unharmed,” Amber pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Only so that he may kill me himself without anyone weakening me. But you are correct, it does afford me some status within the Empire and allowances that others do not have.”</p><p> </p><p>“What kind of political structure is this? I mean, you said it’s an empire, but what process determines who does what, like is there voting, is it a dynastic thing?” Alex asked, her pen moving quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“Dynastic,” Hyukjae replied, nodding.</p><p> </p><p>“So, the Emperor is an inherited title?”</p><p> </p><p>“During a ruling dynasty, yes. When there is a change of dynasty, it becomes more complicated,” Zhou Mi answered.</p><p> </p><p>“What about other political structures? Or is it Emperor, then sort of a gentry class and then moving on down?” Alex said, moving her hands in a triangle.</p><p> </p><p>“Something like that. I mean, really, the best comparison I can think of is like Imperial China,” Hyukjae told her. “Almost everyone is just like you’d find on Earth, there’s not really major distinctions unless you’re in one the major clans. Anyone is free to join the military, or study to become part of the Imperial Scholars, join the religious orders dedicated to the Empire, run their own businesses, or work for others.”</p><p> </p><p>“That is for freed people,” Donghae added.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae’s mouth twisted down. “Oh yeah, there’s that major downside – slavery is totally legal out there.”</p><p> </p><p>Both Donghae and Amber moved their chairs backwards with shock as everyone’s face showed disgust.</p><p> </p><p>“You two okay?” Hyukjae asked as the twins moved slowly back towards the table on either side of him.</p><p> </p><p>“That was… startling,” Amber said, her hand to her chest and slightly shaking. “You said that your planet disapproved of servitude, but I was not aware of how much <em>revulsion</em> there is towards it.” She turned towards the admiral. “That information is forthcoming in the continuation of our life story.”</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway,” Hyukjae continued, overriding more questions. “Once the riot had calmed down as much as a prison riot <em>can</em> calm down and all of the infiltrators were taken care of, we landed on some out of the way world to let others go that could get themselves back into Imperial space.”</p><p> </p><p>“Three questions,” Samuel interrupted. “One, what’s an infiltrator? Two, what do you mean took care of? Three, what was everyone being detained for?”</p><p> </p><p>“One, an infiltrator was a member of the crew that pretended to be a prisoner themselves in order to control them from within. Two, the ones that refused to surrender were killed – which was most of them. Three, can we vaguely gloss over it and say that it was whatever the Zhang wanted to accuse them of?” Hyukjae rattled off.</p><p> </p><p>“Some were merchants that operated just outside of legal bounds for their own reasons,” Song Qian added. “Others were just collected at the same time from the same location. We returned those in either form of servitude to their former homes, to a House, or if that was not possible, then to a location where they would be able to live freely. The merchants that could not provide their own means were infiltrated back into society through some of the large markets where they would be able to resume their businesses.”</p><p> </p><p>“It was many <em>farn</em> before it was only us on the ship,” Donghae finished.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there any sort of due process or trials?” Alex interjected. “You can just be detained for whatever?”</p><p> </p><p>“It depends on where one is accused of the crime,” Zhou Mi answered, taking a sip of his tea. “On an Imperial world, an administrator would hear evidence and pass judgement there with any form of authorized punishment carried out then. On a ship, the captain would perform the same function, but the captain would have total discretion as to what punishment they inflicted. For those detained from a station or in space, they would either be given to the station master or transported to the nearest major world to appear before an administrator.”</p><p> </p><p>“So you can just be accused of whatever and if someone can provide the barest scrap of evidence, then they’re immediately punished?”</p><p> </p><p>“Essentially. Does it matter?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it would go into the determination if the United States would be willing to offer asylum – a safe place to reside – to those wrongfully accused, especially of political prisoners, until a time when they would get a fair hearing.”</p><p> </p><p>“They would raze your entire planet for harboring fugitives and refusing to return them to Imperial space,” Song Qian returned.</p><p> </p><p>“The Empire would not recognize that concept, nor would it recognize the fractured status of individual nation-states. We are only familiar with nations due to our association with Hyukjae, but an entire world could be punished for the actions of a ruling few.”</p><p> </p><p>“No asylum, no nations, got it,” the admiral said, taking a sip of his coffee. “What options do we have if a ship shows up in orbit?”</p><p> </p><p>“If it’s a traveling merchant, consider trading. If it’s a flagship… well, the only option really is to join the Empire. Assuming some damned idiot doesn’t try to launch any sort of missile or nuke at the ship, which I can tell you from experience won’t do a damn thing and will just piss the captain off. They would see that as a declaration of war and either raze half the planet into ashes or destroy several high population cities before demanding a surrender along with thousands of babies and children to be taken into slavery as tribute. There are several worlds that are only loosely aligned with the Zhang since they’re more rustic outposts than official worlds. The Zhang show up, the planet offers tribute in whatever resources it has, the Zhang give food and water supplies and then go away. That might be Earth’s best option until we get our collective shit together to actually be accepted,” Hyukjae said.</p><p> </p><p>“Just to be ruled by some emperor?” Zoe asked derisively.</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone already is,” Hyukjae replied flatly. “You may not see it because you’re a part of it, but the entire world is affected by whatever politician your voting system feels like putting in power. Whoever the President is might as well be called the planetary governor. The entire system is already in place on Earth, what does it matter what we call the people in charge?” He leaned back in his chair to scratch his shoulder against the back. “Even if there was a democratic process across the Empire to vote people in, it would still be practically the same setup. The Zhang as a whole are at least honest about what they call it, and for the most part, the overall Imperial structures do provide for the worlds under them, even if planetary governors can skew it.”</p><p> </p><p>“There are places where the free populace nominates others for placement on the governor’s council. The governor is appointed, but planets are free to send them councils to advise them of the best choices to make,” Zhou Mi added. “It is an accepted system of rule.”</p><p> </p><p>“When there is little corruption,” Song Qian rebutted. “The corruption has taken root within the current dynasty.”</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi made an agreeing noise. “Yes, which is why I agree that warning Earth of best courses of action is a necessity rather than a luxury. Many of the major clans have begun to seek out new worlds and new resources to add to their current favors to show that they hold the Mandate.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mandate? Like Mandate of Heaven thing?” Seungchul asked.</p><p> </p><p>Almost everyone turned their heads to look at Seungchul with varying degrees of surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“What? I studied abroad in China for three years and I’m decent at ancient Chinese history. Just because I like to blow things up in my job doesn’t mean I don’t have other interests.”</p><p> </p><p>“How are you aware of the Mandate without previous contact?” Donghae asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, wait, wait. What’s this Mandate thing?” the admiral asked, his voice overriding anything else being said.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s what the Imperial dynasties claimed they had for as long as they ruled, sort of like a divine right to rule, but if the population thought that the Emperor was ruling unfairly or wasn’t morally sound, they could rebel. If it was successful, then it was obvious that the next dynasty had the Mandate. The Zhou used that argument when they overthrew the Shang…” Seungchul paused as he realized what he’d just said. “Wait… Zhou…?”</p><p> </p><p>“How long ago was this?” Zhou Mi asked.</p><p> </p><p>“A few thousand years for us, but I have no idea how you measure time.”</p><p> </p><p>“It is possible that someone from my clan had been exiled before and set themselves up on your world as a ruler. But it would be nearly impossible to get that information in my current state.”</p><p> </p><p>“And it would be nearly impossible to verify it on Earth, too. No one really knows where the rulers before Qin Shi Huang were buried, so I guess that one will just remain a mystery,” Seungchul said with a shrug.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay let’s get back on track. What’s happened in the years from that point that you woke up to now?” the admiral asked.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged. “We established ourselves as cargo shippers who wouldn’t ask too many questions – especially to those trapped in slavery. It doesn’t make us the most popular people to mention around some members of upper Zhang society, but they can go fuck themselves. We’re doing what we can – well, we were – to pull out some of the corruption on a more local level and at least get supplies to those that needed them instead of sitting at some governor’s storehouse while people tried to survive on even less.”</p><p> </p><p>“Were?” Sora finally asked.</p><p> </p><p>“About a year ago, we started getting found really quickly and we haven’t had time to stop for anything more than running repairs or even slow down to think about how. This is actually the first time we’ve been in one place for over two <em>farn</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Two days?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. No, a <em>farn</em> works out to be about thirty-nine Earth hours with twelve standards in one <em>farn</em>, so each standard is a little over three hours.”</p><p> </p><p>“What happens if you get caught? Are you given to a ship’s captain?” Samuel asked.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae caught the quick looks everyone shot him, but he shrugged. “For most people, it would be determined as to where they were caught. We, however, are special cases now and we’d be transported to the capital to face accusations there.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you accused of?” Alex piped up, her pen still moving rapidly before she lifted it to bite down on the top in what Hyukjae guessed to be an unconscious habit.</p><p> </p><p>“Which one of us are you asking?” Hyukjae returned. “I’m not trying to be deliberately obstructing,” he said to Alex’s annoyed look, “but the answer would change a bit depending which one. Although I think we’re all accused of destruction of at least one Zhang ship, destruction of Imperial property, illegal distribution of controlled goods, piracy, commandeering, murder, looting, theft, inciting riots... what am I missing?”</p><p> </p><p>“Harboring criminals,” Zhou Mi said immediately.</p><p> </p><p>“Evading punishment,” Donghae added.</p><p> </p><p>“Releasing prisoners,” Amber said after thinking for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Refusing Imperial summons and numerous public insults towards Imperial officials,” Song Qian finished.</p><p> </p><p>Alex looked up, her pen precariously hanging out of her mouth. “Is there a crime you <em>haven’t</em> been accused of?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, that’s just what we’ve actually done that some evidence would exist for. Our accused crimes are… a lot more than that, including a few things I’m pretty sure Li Chen just decided to invent after our last encounter with him,” Hyukjae returned, his anger at the arrogant planetary governor sparking.</p><p> </p><p>“Who’s Li Chen?”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s a fucking asshole of a planetary governor that has delusions of grandeur,” Hyukjae bit out.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow, tell us how you really feel,” Zoe drawled.</p><p> </p><p>“How I really feel is if he was right here, I would have no hesitation in killing him slowly and sending his body back in tiny pieces,” Hyukjae replied, his temper flaring, but he took a deep breath as Donghae threaded their fingers together and he tried to ignore the wide-eyed looks he was getting from his family. “I <em>really</em> do not like him.”</p><p> </p><p>“What did he do you personally? Because that sounds like a really personal grudge,” Samuel pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae glanced at Zhou Mi, who nodded a fraction before speaking. “The Li clan has usually been just out of reach for considerations of creating a new dynasty, but they have maintained their power as planetary governors for several dynasties and they acquire more worlds under their influence. Li Chen is the highest ranking official of the Li clan, as well as its patriarch, and it is clear he wishes to move his clan into an area where either he is the founding Emperor of a new dynasty or that one of his descendants will gain that position. To gain control of or influence over a world like Earth would move the Li clan into a much higher realm of power,” Zhou Mi explained, his voice smooth and calming. “He was made aware of Hyukjae’s existence and that Earth is not in any Imperial catalogue of worlds.”</p><p> </p><p>“So he wants you specifically,” the admiral said, not really asking a question, but Hyukjae nodded anyway, taking some comfort of Donghae’s hand in his own.</p><p> </p><p>“I seem to be a very popular guy with the same people that hate my guts,” he finally said, trying to release the tension out of his shoulders. “Although no one’s ever gotten Earth’s location out of me simply because I didn’t know where it was in a galactic context.”</p><p> </p><p>Amber hummed. “We will need to maintain a high degree of caution until a new dynasty is created, or any rebellions are crushed so as not to reveal Earth’s location.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I was actually just thinking that too,” Hyukjae agreed, running his hand through his hair. “That’s going to suck if we have to keep on the run.”</p><p> </p><p>“There are those who would assist us and provide us means if we are able to contact them,” Song Qian replied. “But we should structure other plans at a later time.”</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you said that you were really loopy when you were interrogated – are you sure that they couldn’t have gotten some clues?” Alex asked, chewing on her pen again.</p><p> </p><p>“If they did, there would already be a flagship in orbit,” Hyukjae pointed out. “The only information the official Imperial channels would have is already six years out of date.”</p><p> </p><p>“What about in unofficial channels?” she followed up immediately.</p><p> </p><p>“There is no need to overly concern yourself with only a few vague rumors,” Donghae supplied, and Hyukjae noticed his eyes starting to turn blue from the intense emotions.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?” the admiral asked.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae swallowed, suddenly wanting to get everything out in the open. “I’ve been captured once. While it’s possible someone who was associated with it managed to survive by not being there, they wouldn’t have any real information. We were the only ones that left that place alive.”</p><p> </p><p>“How long were you held?” the admiral asked, idly playing with his cup.</p><p> </p><p>“About four <em>farn</em> before they tracked me down and got me out.”</p><p> </p><p>“What did they do to you?” Samuel asked, his voice calm and understanding. Hyukjae had no doubt that Samuel had read between the lines, and he had to give the man credit for being able to do that.</p><p> </p><p>Standing, Hyukjae lifted his shirt along his left side as he turned around, exposing the scarring along his rib cage and traveling across his back and the dark bar that stretched from shoulder to shoulder, marking him as a criminal. He wasn’t surprised at the gasps or the growls, but he had to admit to being mildly impressed with the variety of curses that spilled out. He pulled his shirt back on and sat back down.</p><p> </p><p>“That,” he said, reaching out on either side to grab both Donghae and Amber’s hands, letting the twins’ deep growls soak into him, but also reminding them both that he was alive and with them. Stretching his leg out, he quickly felt both Zhou Mi and Song Qian doing the same, and he re-centered himself with the physical connection, but he didn’t trust himself to look at his family. He knew everyone was remembering the hallways that were coated in blood.</p><p> </p><p>“That was when we all realized how emotionally attached we were to Hyukjae,” Zhou Mi said.</p><p> </p><p>“Was it that Li Chen guy?” Sora asked, surprising the hell out of Hyukjae. He looked over at her, and though she was blinking away tears, her eyes were blazing with anger. He could see his father hugging his mother tightly next to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps,” Zhou Mi answered. “We were not able to determine if those responsible were acting on his orders or if they merely had the erroneous thought that they would bring themselves to a higher status. In either scenario, it no longer matters. Everyone that was in that place died by either the twins or myself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Though I was there,” Song Qian started, probably anticipating the next question, “I was more concerned with healing Hyukjae, but I will admit that I enjoyed the spectacle as I was doing so,” she finished with finality.</p><p> </p><p>“I think we both did,” Hyukjae agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“You remember that?” the admiral asked, looking startled.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded. “I was awake and aware the entire time. Though my memory gets a little blurry while they were torturing me, I was totally aware of what was happening. They gave me something that just kept me physically weak or had me in an immobilizer field, but I wasn’t ever really knocked out.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Jesus</em>,” Zoe muttered, burying her face in her hands. “How in the hell are you still sane?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae snorted a laugh, needing to move on. “Sanity and morality by Earth standards is likely to be debatable at this point, but you’re looking at the people who kept me together.”</p><p> </p><p>“How long ago was… that?” Deokbon asked, her voice quivering.</p><p> </p><p>“I think some time in my second year out. I kind of lost track of time and only <em>Pioneer</em> had any sort of information about how long I was gone. But we’ve been fortunate to not have a repeat,” he said. “That’s pretty much the entire summation of what’s happened, though. We do cargo runs when we can, we get people out of slavery, and repeat it all again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing else?” the admiral asked.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae grinned. “Not unless you want to know that much about my personal life,” he laughed, needing to move on from that particular memory.</p><p> </p><p>“Spare us the sordid details, please. We can get enough just from clues,” his father chided.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, you two are together. Cool,” Samuel said, as if he was simply reading the news.</p><p> </p><p>“Cool?” Sora asked, completely baffled.</p><p> </p><p>“Sis, I’m from Hawai‘i. I have a <em>huge</em> family and instead of us having ‘<em>the gay cousin</em>’ that’s about half of my cousins, aunties, <em>and</em> uncles. And that’s just my blood relations, I haven’t even counted up everyone with my <em>hanai</em> family included,” Samuel replied, waving a hand. “I just grew up knowing that some of my aunties had girlfriends, some of my uncles had a boyfriend, and one of my cousins <em>will</em> go after any adult that’s still breathing. I never had an option of <em>not</em> knowing and no one around us else did either.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is a.. <em>han…hi</em>?” Donghae asked, tilting his head.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Hanai</em>,” Samuel corrected, saying the word a bit slower. “It’s like informal adopted family, kind of like what you’ve got going on. We just have a word in Hawaiian for it.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Hanai</em>…” Amber said, pausing. “I like that word.”</p><p> </p><p>“It does seem appropriate for our situation,” Song Qian said, nodding.</p><p> </p><p>“So, it is not that uncommon to have relationships such as ours on your world?” Donghae asked curiously.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m guessing Hyukjae wanted to spare you the annoyance of dealing with any potential homophobia,” Deokbon supplied, her voice still a little shaky as Kanghun wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.</p><p> </p><p>“What is that?”</p><p> </p><p>Alex sighed and leaned forward, resting her weight on her arms. “The definition of homophobia is the dislike or hatred and prejudice against people who are attracted to the same sex or same gendered people. From the way you asked that, I’m guessing that it’s a localized phenomenon on Earth.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Hyukjae sighed as the rest of the crew looked among themselves in confusion. “It’s generally just accepted as a part of life in the Empire.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, nice.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s pretty much what I felt.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh that’s why I got picked,” Zoe murmured thoughtfully. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I pulled multiple volunteer shifts at a LBGT clinic during undergrad and through med school. I’ve been racking my mind, thinking about what singled me out over several other people with the same background and the same or better credentials.”</p><p> </p><p>“I covered for more than a few of my teammates while I was still active duty from getting discovered until they decided to take an honorable discharge during the whole ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ thing,” the admiral added, spinning his empty cup around in his fingers. “I almost got myself court martialed from the… <em>vigor</em>, shall we say, of telling a vice admiral he was full of shit for accusing one of my guys at some point.” He snorted a laugh. “The man’s gayer than a three-dollar bill, but he was the best goddamn SEAL I’d ever had the privilege of serving with. I’m not that stupid to let something like the gender of who he got his rocks off with override how good he was at his job.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you serious?” Sora muttered.</p><p> </p><p>“As a heart attack. Look at it this way, Ms Lee. This is essentially a first contact situation and your brother is the one person that can bridge two civilizations. Even though nothing was ever said or confirmed, there must have been enough suspicion to make sure they send the right people. Are you really going to fuck this up by sending someone who can’t play nice with everyone and potentially alienate the one person that can help?”</p><p> </p><p>“I –“ Sora started, then cocked her head. “I didn’t think of it like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course not,” Seungchul replied soothingly. “Your brother is suddenly <em>alive</em>, and that’s all that matters. I’d be the same way if that happened to my noona.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well that would have been helpful information to know before I threatened to shove you out of an airlock. Sorry about that,” Hyukjae said with a shrug.</p><p> </p><p>“We can understand where you’re coming from, too, so no harm,” Samuel replied shrugging a large shoulder. “By the way, something I’ve been meaning to ask for the past ten minutes or so – what’s with the twins and the freaky eye thing? No offense.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a quick exchange of glances before Zhou Mi shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“Twin and I were taken for tribute when we were babies, stripped of any name and family we were born into,” Amber said, her voice calm. “We were given to the Zhou patriarch who placed us in a group to be raised for experimentation of the genetic modifications we now have. If we or others survived, we would be trained to be his personal bodyguards and assassins, as the modifications transformed us to become mildly telepathic with enough of the wild animal genes to sense danger and change our eyes to mark and isolate us from others.”</p><p> </p><p>“I freed them and Hyukjae gave them names that they can use for themselves,” Zhou Mi added.</p><p> </p><p>“He was exiled for his efforts to free us,” Donghae replied.</p><p> </p><p>“A small price to pay. I do not regret my actions to free you.”</p><p> </p><p>“How high up in the Zhang social structure is your clan to be given tribute?” Alex said, tapping her pen against her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi blinked, obviously taken a bit off guard. “You gathered that information exceedingly quickly,” he pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that <em>is</em> my job. I have to figure out who stands where in diplomatic functions and I’m usually having to do it on quick notice. Plus, you talked as though you had intimate knowledge of high-class Zhang society and there was a comment about you having status, so it’s a reasonable assumption to make,” she returned, shrugging.</p><p> </p><p>“The Zhou clan is currently third in line for consideration of Emperor within the current dynasty,” he finally said.</p><p> </p><p>“Pretty high up,” she commented, writing down a note in her notebook.</p><p> </p><p>“It no longer has any concern to me. I am exiled, stricken from family records as though I never existed. I am only afforded some status from those who wish to return me to my patriarch, who has demanded my return unharmed, or those who freely choose to accord me that honor.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would he want you back if you’re already exiled and you’re not supposed to exist?” Seungchul asked.</p><p> </p><p>“He wishes to kill me for my defiance of how he believes that I should act as a member of the Zhou clan. He believes that by my death, the clan will be freed from the shame of my rebelliousness.”</p><p> </p><p>“You were kicked out by just for being a decent person?” Zoe asked, rolling her eyes. “Sheesh, what a mess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Who is the current patriarch of the Zhou clan?” Alex asked, her pen poised above the paper.</p><p> </p><p>“My father’s grandfather, Zhou Li. My father was the eldest grandson in the male line, and I am his only child.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have family issues too?” Alex asked Song Qian, joking.</p><p> </p><p>“My birth family believes me dead, perished in a fire that I began after I killed my former husband. I requested sanctuary at the House of Song and at a legal age, entered into training as a time giver. After I completed my training, I was given a name I could use as freely as I live,” Song Qian replied.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you mind if I ask why?” Zoe asked after a moment.</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian shrugged. “My birth father arranged my marriage to a much older man who agreed to a reduction of dowry price if I was given to him after my Time of Change ceremony and he did not care to hear my argument against it, as it would increase his status from marriage into a more powerful clan. The priests performing the marriage ceremony were either unaware of this or believed me to remain in my father’s home until I had reached a legal age or were bribed to maintain silence. My former husband forced himself upon me the first night, asserting that it was his right to have me. I slit his throat when he attempted to do so the next night and set fire to the house to make it seem as though I had perished as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that’s fair,” Kanghun muttered. “Good job,” he praised, nodding.</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian inclined her head with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I personally would have gone for a much slower death, but good job considering you were a minor <em>and</em> you thought ahead to start the fire,” Seungchul added as Alex continued to scribble notes down.</p><p> </p><p>“You mentioned something earlier about ‘either form’ of slavery –“ Alex started, but was interrupted as a chime sounded through the ship, making everyone jump.</p><p> </p><p>“Hyukjae?” Song Qian asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yep, I’ll head up for watch,” he said, standing. “Go to sleep.”</p><p> </p><p>“Twin and I will begin on the external repairs we have scheduled,” Amber said as she stood as well.</p><p> </p><p>“I will remain available to you, Alex Nelson, to explain more details of the Empire and answer the question about servitude,” Zhou Mi said, just before his lips quirked. “Provided more of the <em>vekju</em>-like beverage,” he teased.</p><p> </p><p>Alex laughed. “I’ll give you as much tea as you want,” she replied as Hyukjae left the crew area.</p><p> </p><p>With a kiss for Donghae and a hug for Amber, they split up at the lift, Hyukjae headed up to the flight deck while the twins would be going down to get their spacesuits on.</p><p> </p><p>Dropping down into one of the pilot chairs, he unlocked it as soon as he’d cloned the information that would have been sent to the disconnected weapons chair and idly swung his seat back and forth as he waited for the twins to indicate they were ready to head outside.</p><p> </p><p>“Hyukjae?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae turned his head towards the large opening. “Hey noona,” he greeted with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Sora sat down in the other piloting chair, obviously pensive. “So you weren’t really joking about tossing someone out of an airlock?” she finally ventured.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged. “It’s…” He sighed, aborting the obfuscation. “No, probably not,” he finally admitted. “You never know how violent someone can get when they’re a homophobe and I’m not going to sit around and wait for someone to attack me – not anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I guess I can’t fault you for that one,” she muttered ruefully. “How do you make this swing around?”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s a button down by your left foot,” he said, looking at the console as he saw two red lights turn on.</p><p> </p><p>“Hyukjae? Twin and I are ready to exit,” Donghae said.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, opening the doors,” he replied, initiating the sequence to allow the twins to exit the ship. “Keep in contact.”</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed.”</p><p> </p><p>Sora sighed. “I can’t believe they were just <em>taken</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged. “That’s kind of what it means that they were tribute.”</p><p> </p><p>“I caught part of that but explain the difference to me – preferably in terms I understand,” she added.</p><p> </p><p>“Tributes are what everyone from Earth pictures as slavery. They have no rights and no means to get out of that status aside from being freed or escape to a place where they can’t be found, and any children they have are automatically tribute. Slaves are more like… servants. They can eventually buy their way out if they were sold into it, or they can challenge their status to an administrator if they believe that either parent was freed at the time of their birth, and they are far more likely to be freed. They have certain rights and protections since it’s…” he sighed. “It’s sort of like, I don’t know, kind of like bankruptcy or something like that. If kids are sold into slavery instead of being taken as tribute, they’re sold for a certain period of time. After they reach legal age and assuming that they aren’t freed, they can purchase their way out, and it’s supposedly a way to make sure that they can at least survive to adulthood if their families can’t provide for them. Anyone who was a slave can be instantly considered a citizen once they’re out, but tributes have a pretty complicated process to try and be considered a citizen.” He shook his head, his lips turning down. “It’s slavery no matter what, but if it comes to a choice between freeing tribute or freeing a slave, I’ll choose the tribute every single time since they don’t have options.”</p><p> </p><p>Sora hummed, nodding. “Okay that makes more sense than what Zhou Mi was trying to explain.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah the speech patterns and terms take a little getting used to.”</p><p> </p><p>“How long ago did you two get together?” Sora asked, looking back as their parents walked in. Hyukjae didn’t even need to ask if she was referring to him and Donghae.</p><p> </p><p>“Something around three, maybe four years ago. It actually wasn’t more than about a year after they rescued me, but it took my dumb ass a while to realize it. In fact, it wasn’t until he nearly died that I stopped dragging my feet. You might want to share that chair – the floor is way too cold to sit down on for too long,” he told his parents, pointing at the central weapons chair. He smiled as he saw the two red lights blinking at the edge of the ship on his console. “As terrible as everything seems, meeting him… it’s been more than enough.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll live for him,” Deokbon said, nodding.</p><p> </p><p>“Just as he lived for me.” He swung back and forth a couple of times. “If it wasn’t for that whole ‘being wanted criminals’ thing, we’d probably apply to be legally recognized, er, married.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can do what you want on your own ship,” Kanghun pointed out, wrapping his arm around Deokbon.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, the others pretty much consider us an official couple anyway. It’s really just paperwork for anything else.”</p><p> </p><p>“How old are they?” Sora finally asked.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re all roughly the same age – at least that’s what our last scans said. Everyone’s within the same cycle – that’s something just under six months for Earth time – of each other. So don’t worry, you’re still the noona,” he teased with a grin.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, one worry crossed off my list,” Sora returned drolly. “Seriously, how can you still laugh after everything?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged. “It’s either laugh or just be crushed. I won’t lie, we all have nightmares about things we’ve been through, but we learned how to help each other through bad days and through bad moments. We adapt and survive and keep going, protecting and supporting each other as best we can.”</p><p> </p><p>“Twin and I have arrived, we are beginning work,” Amber said from the console.</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed,” he replied.</p><p> </p><p>“You gave them their names?” Kanghun asked.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded. “They were just numbers… <em>things</em>. They never had anything to call each other aside from <em>Twin</em> and nothing for anyone else to call them. I suggested the names, and they liked them enough to use them.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why those two names?” Deokbon added.</p><p> </p><p>“Their eyes,” Hyukjae answered simply. “Amber’s eyes – literally the first part of her I saw – reminded me so much of pieces of amber, especially when they glow. By the way Mom, thank you for managing to get that necklace on such short notice.”</p><p> </p><p>Deokbon smiled, then yawned delicately. “You’re welcome.”</p><p> </p><p>“And Donghae?” Kanghun prodded, yawning a little as well.</p><p> </p><p>“Remember when we took that vacation to Ulsan? I remembered how blue the waters were there, and you saw how blue Donghae’s eyes are when they change. So, Donghae for the East Sea.”</p><p> </p><p>“Can he control the change?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shook his head. “It happens when he experiences intense emotions or something like an adrenaline rush.” He frowned as he caught his parents covering up another yawn. “What time is it back home?”</p><p> </p><p>“Almost one in the morning,” Deokbon answered after she looked at her watch.</p><p> </p><p>“Go to bed,” he chided with a roll of his eyes. “I’ve got watch for the next couple of standards – um, six and a half hours – and you’ll feel a lot better once you’ve had some sleep.”</p><p> </p><p>There were some grumbles, but with repeated assurances that they still had time to visit and catch up, they finally wandered back to their quarters. He relaxed back into his chair, letting his mind wander as the twins checked in with him every time they finished up in an area.</p><p> </p><p>“I cannot believe that there isn’t a medical facility on board this ship,” Zoe griped as she came in, making Hyukjae start badly, his hand automatically reaching for his weapon. “What the hell do you do if someone’s hurt?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae put a hand over his heart, feeling it pounding. “There <em>is</em> one, it’s just been unusable for a while. We just patch each other up in either the crew area or down in our living quarters,” he replied as soon as he’d caught his breath.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened to it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hull fracture. The twins actually just finished patching that area up about an hour ago, and when we land on a planet with breathable air again, we can get it air. We just don’t have the power to spare to pressurize it right now. Have you slept?”</p><p> </p><p>She shrugged. “A little. I can go back down in a while, but right now I’m too awake.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae grunted a little in understanding. His attention was snagged as she pulled a stethoscope out of the bag she dropped on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Lean forward, and take deep breaths,” she ordered.</p><p> </p><p>Deciding to humor her, Hyukjae did so as she listened to his heart and breathing along with taking his pulse. “I was fine the last time we got access to a scanner,” he finally said.</p><p> </p><p>“How long ago was that?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, over a year ago for certain, but Song Qian couldn’t see anything wrong. Why?”</p><p> </p><p>Zoe dropped into the other chair, yelping as it spun freely.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae snorted a laugh. “The button down by your left foot will lock it,” he instructed.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know what caused that scarring across your back?” Zoe asked as she locked the chair in place.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shook his head. “Just some kind of board with lights all over it, and then the world was nothing but pain. If you’ve seen <em>Empire</em>, it’s kind of like what Darth Vader was using on Han Solo. Again, why?”</p><p> </p><p>She drummed her fingers for a second. “Some of those scars on your back that curve onto your ribs look like Lichtenberg figures, which would indicate some electrical current. But fortunately for you, I don’t hear any arrythmia or abnormal lung functions, although you do need to keep a watch on that just in case. I’d prefer to have you get a full work up, but that’s not likely unless I can get into your medical bay or we go back to Earth,” she grumbled slightly. “And for the moment, I’m trying to <em>completely</em> ignore sexual activity with a non-Earth human…”</p><p> </p><p>“Donghae isn’t human, or at least he wouldn’t be classified as such,” Hyukjae interrupted. “We’re all interrelated cousin species, but everyone out there wouldn’t be classified as anything more than just a general… what’s the term for the bigger group of humans in the biological taxonomy?”</p><p> </p><p>“Genus <em>Homo</em>. What’s the difference between everyone?” she asked, folding her arms. With the quick rubbing, Hyukjae guessed it was more for heat retention rather than irritation.</p><p> </p><p>“I have no idea. You’re looking at someone who studied physics, astronomy, and aerodynamics, and to tell you the truth, I’ve almost failed any biology class I’ve ever taken. I can’t tell you the difference in any meaningful terms, but if you compare my DNA to Zhou Mi or Song Qian’s, it’s slightly different. The twins are even more different from their genetic modifications.”</p><p> </p><p>Zoe tapped her foot for a moment. “Hm, possibly different mutations given various conditions on other worlds, plus divergent paths would come into play,” she finally said slowly. “But that’s <em>assuming</em> that we all have a common genetic pool.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded. “There’s a lot of myths and legends out there that we’re all seedlings from an advanced ancient race that scattered DNA across the universe, so everyone having a common genetic pool could have some scientific backing.”</p><p> </p><p>“Panel replaced,” Donghae suddenly said from the console. “We are moving to the next location.”</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed,” Hyukjae said. “How’s your air?”</p><p> </p><p>Both the twins snorted a quick laugh. “It is fine. We will be able to complete these repairs without pausing,” Amber said.</p><p> </p><p>“We will check in again when we have affixed the next panel,” Donghae continued.</p><p> </p><p>“All right, keep in contact.”</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed.” The softness in Donghae’s voice made Hyukjae smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn, he really loves you,” Zoe commented.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Hyukjae said, and he didn’t kid himself that he didn’t sound just as in love. “He’s the best thing that happened in my life.” He waited a beat. “I know it’s your job to concern yourself with infectious diseases that you could catch and bring back to Earth. The Zhang keep their subjects relatively healthy, and there haven’t been any pandemics that <em>any</em> of us can remember. They wouldn’t get tribute – the resources, not people – from a sick world.”</p><p> </p><p>“How do they do that?”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s immune system boosters in the food cubes a lot of people rely on, including ourselves. Even those that can grow their own food have access to time givers and there’s mass vaccination programs to keep ahead of anything that could develop into a major disease.”</p><p> </p><p>“If those food cubes are designed for a cousin species, do they work on you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I guess so. I haven’t noticed anything that could be a vitamin deficiency or anything close to rickets. We try and eat fresh food when we can, but we’ve been having to survive off the food cubes for a while. I haven’t noticed any impact for me, but you’d probably do better to check with Song Qian to see if she’s noticed anything I can’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm, okay. I’ll talk with her when she wakes up. How long do you normally sleep?”</p><p> </p><p>“We normally take about four standards across a <em>farn</em>, so it works out to about twelve and a half hours of sleep per thirty-nine hours. Most everyone on a planet just sticks with their normal solar cycle for sleeping, but the official Imperial time is most often used for anyone in space.”</p><p> </p><p>Zoe huffed. “That has to be an absolute mess for any measure of time keeping.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s actually not too bad, most things are just given as a vague ‘this happened during an Emperor’s reign’ or within a given cycle during whatever Emperor’s reign to keep the Imperial historians happy, and business is still business across everything, but not so reliant on strict time like Earth is. A few things are, but most everything is more ‘hey get there within a few <em>farn</em> and you’ll get paid.’ Our onboard computers keep Imperial time, so we know where we are in a cycle, and <em>Pioneer</em> has a clock still on Earth time.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know how they develop information on communicable diseases?” she asked after a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Not really too many details, but I know the time givers are legally obligated to report anything that could develop –“</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Hyukjae start the engines</em>,” Donghae yelled from the console. “Twin and I will be inside swiftly.”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong?” he asked as his hands flew across the console, starting the power on sequence while he hit the button to lock his chair with his foot. He didn’t even bother asking if it was necessary, since the tone of Donghae’s voice had told him that much.</p><p> </p><p>“Probe,” Donghae replied. “We are almost to the entrance.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae was still starting up the engines. “Doc, when I tell you to, hit that white button,” he told Zoe, his voice surprisingly calm, pointing at the alarm he couldn’t reach from his seat.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi rushed in, obviously having heard the engines powering on. “What is happening?” he asked sharply as others followed him in.</p><p> </p><p>“Donghae says we have a probe lodged in. They’re almost back inside,” Hyukjae explained briefly, not put out by the tone. He continued pulling the engines up from their powered down state, keeping his eyes trained on the multitude of readouts.</p><p> </p><p>“Twin and I are inside, cycling through,” Amber said, a little breathless.</p><p> </p><p>“Hit it,” he told Zoe.</p><p> </p><p>The battle siren wailed throughout the ship, sealing all access ports and readying power transfers to defensive and offensive sections, including reconnecting the power to the weapons chair.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, now get out of that seat,” he said, still trying to bring the engines fully online.</p><p> </p><p>Amber arrived within a couple of minutes, just ahead of Donghae, and she slid into the seat Zoe had just vacated.</p><p> </p><p>“What kind of probe?” he asked, feeling Donghae’s fingers curling into his shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“Locator probe. The chase ship is still some distance away from us, but the indicator is far too fast for anything more than a standard before we are found.”</p><p> </p><p>As soon as he could, Hyukjae rolled out of the seat, letting Donghae take his place. He switched immediately into the weaponry chair, even though it entirely disconnected from the actual weapons on the ship so as to conserve power, but it would allow him to monitor the immediate zone outside of the ship. Zhou Mi was already busy with the holographic projections, waving his hands around to try and pull up any visual they were able to get from the twins’ last location.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong?” the admiral barked as he shuffled in.</p><p> </p><p>“Locator probe,” Hyukjae said. “We have to leave now.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean <em>leave</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean go, leave, get the hell out of the solar system before whoever is tracking us can <em>find</em> us! Fuck, no wonder we’ve had to run so much,” Hyukjae cursed, running his hands through his hair in frustration.</p><p> </p><p>“We are aware of it now,” Zhou Mi said, calmer. “We must indeed leave before our location is firmly tracked.”</p><p> </p><p>“How long has that been there?” Seungchul asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Probably for over a year,” Hyukjae snapped. “We haven’t known about it because of that whole <em>being on the run</em> thing and not having time for more than running repairs.”</p><p> </p><p>The ship shuddered a little as it lifted off from Phobos, the engines whining.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, wait, wait, you’re taking us back to Earth first, right?” Alex asked, her voice rising.</p><p> </p><p>“There is not time. I have located the probe,” Zhou Mi said.</p><p> </p><p>“How does it work?” the admiral asked, moving over to the table and leaning heavily on it.</p><p> </p><p>“The light flashes to indicate distance, and it will blink faster the closer the chaser is.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s blinking <em>really</em> fast,” the admiral commented as Alex and Samuel were both cursing quietly under their breaths.</p><p> </p><p>“Once it turns into a solid color, the chaser has a firm location to which they can navigate to.”</p><p> </p><p>The admiral sighed, staring at the image of the probe for a second. “Get me that communicator you’ve been using to contact Mission Control,” he said to Hyukjae. “How soon can we move?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re already off Phobos, so it’s just a matter of getting a good trajectory out of the system.”</p><p> </p><p>“Can we get closer to Earth for a message?”</p><p> </p><p>“Basic stealthing is still not available yet,” Donghae said. “We will pilot closer to your satellite once we are certain we have a path that will not risk our discovery by your people.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae grabbed the communicator off the main console and passed it to the admiral before he hopped back in the weaponry seat.</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian rushed in, her hair mussed, and her shirt skewed across her stomach, with his family close on her heels who also looked nearly half asleep. “What…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Locator probe,” Zhou Mi said. “I am watching it.”</p><p> </p><p>With a savage curse, she rushed over to the side, pushing open the tall secondary projector and immediately pulling up the complicated power streams.</p><p> </p><p>“We are approaching Earth’s satellite,” Donghae said. “We should now be close enough for near-instantaneous transmissions,” he said after a minute or two of creeping over the lunar surface to get Earth into visual range for the short-range communicator.</p><p> </p><p>“Mission Control, Admiral Thorn. Visitors and cargo must leave to avoid detection, possible hostiles will arrive within hours. <em>Do not engage</em>,” he stressed. “Weaponry will not function, and visitors are attempting to divert hostiles by leaving, but are unable to return cargo. Will contact again when safe,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“Admiral, Mission Control. Message received,” a tinny voice replied after a few seconds.</p><p> </p><p>“Go,” Hyukjae said.</p><p> </p><p>The twins rolled the ship back to the far side of the moon and adjusted their trajectory out of the orbital plane. With a brief whine of the engines, they were travelling faster than light out of the solar system.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Red Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were on the fifth jump out of the solar system before the probe’s light slowed perceptibly, and Hyukjae took a few deep breaths to calm his rattled nerves as they paused in space.</p><p> </p><p>“Anything I need to go fix?” he asked Song Qian, who was stifling yawns and blinking rapidly.</p><p> </p><p>She shrugged. “All of our repairs are holding, so nothing is needing it. Our power levels have dipped, but they are not at critical levels yet. Where are we?”</p><p> </p><p>“We have returned to Imperial space, moving towards the core,” Amber replied. “We are not far away from some mercantile areas, but it does depend on where we can arrive.”</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi made an annoyed noise. “We do not have much to offer for a bribe, so that will limit our choices even more.”</p><p> </p><p>“It would take us eight jumps to arrive at the nearest place that will not ask questions or does not require a bribe that would stretch our resources. We have avoided many of the closer locations for a cycle or two,” Donghae said as his hands tapped against the console.</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian sighed. “That would send us down towards critical levels again,” she said, pushing the projector back in frustration. “It has taken us over three <em>farn</em> just to get this much!”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae went over to her and immediately pulled her into a hug. “I know,” he whispered.</p><p> </p><p>“It is <em>so</em> frustrating,” she muttered, sounding on the verge of tears.</p><p> </p><p>“What are our options?” Zhou Mi asked Donghae as he came around to wrap both of them in his long arms.</p><p> </p><p>“Tigris is closest, but Kata, Qinyan, Shina, and Hebein are not out of range,” Donghae replied. “No matter our choice, there is one common jump before a decision must be made. However, we will need to change the designator.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll do it,” Hyukjae immediately said.</p><p> </p><p>“I will assist,” Song Qian said, still frustrated but not on the verge of tears. “Do not push our speed too much, otherwise I will have to divert power,” she told the twins.</p><p> </p><p>Both Donghae and Amber nodded in unison as they began to warm up the engines.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s this designator thing?” Samuel asked. “And where is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s… uh, identification thing… identify friend/foe,” he said as he suddenly remembered what he wanted to call it to make others understand what it was. “It’s in one of the sealed off areas since it’s still in a vacuum. We’ll be right back.”</p><p> </p><p>Both he and Song Qian quickly left the flight deck. “Which do you think?” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>Her hands rubbed at her neck for a second as the lift took them down to where they could get into their space suits. “I believe Qinyan is the better choice,” she finally replied. “It is a planet as opposed to the others, and if I am correct about the current time, it should be time for the Night of Lanterns festival beginning within a <em>farn</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae made an interested noise. “Bigger markets would let us get lost in them in case there’s soldiers, but I think we’re all wanted for one thing or another there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Only looting and theft,” she countered. “But since our thievery was not related to freeing those in servitude, perhaps that brief would have expired. We also have some disguising options left.”</p><p> </p><p>They sealed up their helmets as they approached the airlock and Hyukjae hit his internal communicator. “Zhou Mi?”</p><p> </p><p>“Admiral Thorn,” came the swift reply back. “He’s keeping watch on the power while we’re in flight.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae met Song Qian’s eyes through their helmets, and though they both shared a distrust of others, they also knew that there would be no way for a hostile takeover to happen. “All right,” Hyukjae sighed. “We’re headed into the airlock, keep a watch on our signals, please.”</p><p> </p><p>“Roger that.”</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian’s face slowed confusion, but it cleared as Hyukjae mimed that it was a confirmation phrase. They cycled through the airlock, entering into a hallway that was only lit by dull red lighting.</p><p> </p><p>“No matter how many times I do this, it’s still creepy as hell,” Hyukjae muttered as he looked around.</p><p> </p><p>“Zhou Mi wants to know if you need power,” the admiral said into his helmet, startling Hyukjae.</p><p> </p><p>“No, but I’d really appreciate it if you could go back in time and stop me from watching the entire <em>Aliens</em> series, along with half of the zombie movies I’ve seen as well too,” Hyukjae replied as he tried to focus on following Song Qian and not letting his imagination create various horrors from the shadows.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I can’t help you with that one,” the admiral said, his voice amused. “Even <em>Alien vs. Predator</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Both of them, I marathoned it before I left Canaveral to get to the ISS,” Hyukjae informed him dryly. “That was probably not the best idea I’ve ever had. Okay, we’re here at the communication room.” The small room was dark and cramped, and if the ship had a full crew, would be staffed by a few people to maintain contact with planets and ships in a patrol area, or if it was a cargo ship, would be on the lookout for business notices. He flipped through the list of designators they had for use for cargo vessels along with any wanted briefs that would be attached to it.</p><p> </p><p>“We should use <em>Andante</em>,” Song Qian said, flipping the designators to pull up the ship information.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae frowned a little – that was their emergency designator, but he supposed that this qualified as an emergency. Hyukjae flipped back and looked at the briefs, hoping that there were still some minor active ones that BamBam or Yugyeom kept updated. The old briefs that they still had downloaded onto their systems from before they disconnected their communications from the Imperial networks were petty theft and one for smuggling along with a couple of wanted briefs that were location locked, but nothing would raise any red flags when they got to Qinyan. “Ready to flip the designator as soon as we drop.”</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t you do it now?” the admiral asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Nope, doesn’t change in flight.” Hyukjae knew that it was to prevent criminals from being able to evade detection as they dropped out into a jump point.</p><p> </p><p>“All right, Zhou Mi says that we’ll be dropping out soon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Copy.”</p><p> </p><p>He heard the engines whine, but he waited for confirmation before he tried to initiate the change, knowing from hard experience that the change would fail and he’d just have to redo the process, keeping them vulnerable.</p><p> </p><p>“Out,” Donghae said into his ears.</p><p> </p><p>“Changing it now,” he said as both he and Song Qian tapped at the buttons that would change their identification. It always took two of them, as they never had been able to figure out how to streamline the process to act as anything other than a formal handover with a new captain and new crew.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae was always so aware of time as their identification changed since they had to remain perfectly still in space and until the process was complete, their old identification would still be broadcasted. “Come on,” he muttered as he watched the displays change, then flash to indicate the process was done.</p><p> </p><p>“Done,” he said, telling Donghae that they could begin to move again.</p><p> </p><p>“Destination?” Amber asked as the engines started to vibrate the ship, already knowing that their designation would influence their destination.</p><p> </p><p>“Qinyan,” Song Qian answered.</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae could hear the change in the engines as he and Song Qian cycled back through the airlock, finally releasing their heads from their suit helmets. “You should go back to sleep,” he told her as they placed their suits back in the specialized lockers and then picking up the suits the twins had left on the floor in their haste to get back up to the flight deck to store them away as well.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head. “I would not be able to rest from worry until we are safely away from the chase ship with steadier power levels.” She sighed as they entered into the lift. “A probe,” she muttered, her mouth pursing.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I’m kicking myself for not thinking of it,” he agreed. “And I am <em>not</em> going to enjoy trying to get rid of it, but the hell if Donghae is going to try and do it alone again,” he grumbled, making Song Qian smile with fondness.</p><p> </p><p>“I am certain that he will not attempt that ever again,” she replied as they returned back to the flight deck level.</p><p> </p><p>As Hyukjae guessed, the admiral had seated himself in the weapons chair as he absently rubbed some warmth back into his knee while everyone else seemed to be gathering closer to the projection table, either staring at the image of the probe that was still pulled up, or engrossed in quiet conversation as the twins navigated them to the next jump point.</p><p> </p><p>“What is our designation?” Zhou Mi asked as Hyukjae came to rest next to him.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Andante</em>,” he said as he stared at the probe.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi only made an affirming hum deep in his throat. “Are there any active briefs?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t know if Bam or Gyeomie has kept anything updated in the systems, but the ones still active on our side are just a couple of petty thefts and one for smuggling, but it’s getting kind of old now, and a couple of location locked briefs.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you have any IDs that aren’t hot?” Samuel asked.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shook his head. “No cargo ship would ever be totally clean, and it’s better to have a few active briefs, especially if it’s just minor things like the one this one has.”</p><p> </p><p>“So… basically what you’re saying is that everyone is wanted for something?” Alex asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Most space-farers are, yes. But often times, they are wanted for incredibly minor things and if they are location locked, then Imperial forces will not act upon those briefs. The brief for smuggling, as it is becoming old, would simply be seen as someone overstepping legalities once, but remaining within legal bounds since that time,” Zhou Mi answered.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, these briefs are more like <em>parking tickets</em>?” she asked Hyukjae.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae thought about it for a minute, but finally nodded. “Something like that, yeah, but the bigger stuff is definitely more like a warrant.”</p><p> </p><p>She sighed gustily, rolling her eyes. “Sheesh, I was thinking that anyone would just get hauled in to an administrator for anything.”</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi frowned a bit, tapping at his lips as the engines whined at the transition back to normal space. “Perhaps I explained the legal structure far too technically,” he mused. “My apologies for the false impression of the briefs.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex waved her hand. “No worries, I was also jumping to a conclusion myself, so the problem was both ways. I think comparing your entire society to Imperial China messed with my head a little in regards to legalities.”</p><p> </p><p>“Were they extremely strict?”</p><p> </p><p>“At points, yeah,” Seungchul replied. Anything further he was about to say was interrupted as they dropped out at the jump point.</p><p> </p><p>Both of the twins got up, stretching and then immediately walked over to Hyukjae, snuggling into him.</p><p> </p><p>“All right there?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Charging,” Donghae cutely chirped.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae grinned, rubbing his cheek against Donghae’s shoulder-length hair. “How long will the jump take?”</p><p> </p><p>“Almost a standard,” Amber answered, staring at the image of the probe.</p><p> </p><p>“Want me to fly?” he offered, running his hand through Amber’s hair.</p><p> </p><p>“No, we are able to continue, Twin and I simply need a small break before we take this last jump.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae let the twins soak up his love and affection for them, knowing that they got a small energy boost from it as quiet questions passed back and forth about the nature of the probe and more of how it communicated.</p><p> </p><p>Everything came to a complete standstill as three shrill beeps issued from the console.</p><p> </p><p>“What was that?” Deokbon asked, her eyes widening.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>That</em> was an Imperial vessel querying our identification,” Hyukjae replied as the twins broke away to return to the piloting chairs, he looked at the image of the probe, its light still blinking at a steady pace. If there was only one good piece of news, it was that it wasn’t the ship that was chasing them.</p><p> </p><p>The three beeps sounded again, followed by a two-toned beep before static hissed. “<em>Andante</em>, respond on visual communication.”</p><p> </p><p>They all looked between each other for a moment, silently weighing all of their options.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Adante</em>, respond on visual communication.”</p><p> </p><p>“Two,” Zhou Mi warned.</p><p> </p><p>“We <em>must</em> respond,” Song Qian said, her voice firm.</p><p> </p><p>“They want visual and as soon as they see any of us, we’re <em>dead</em>. We don’t have enough time –“ Hyukjae argued, feeling the anxiety constricting around his chest.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Andante</em>. Respond visually now.”</p><p> </p><p>“We have to go,” he said, his eyes darting towards the console. “We can’t get boarded because they’re just as likely to kill us –“</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Hey</em>,” Alex barked, her hands pulling at the bun her hair was in, a hair pin clattering to the floor. Hyukjae stopped, suddenly reminded that there were more people on the ship, and the anxiety loosened a little. “Tell them you went to go get the captain on audio,” she said. “There is <em>no fucking way</em> I’m going to let any of us get captured. You are our only return ticket back to Earth and I want to go back home, which means I help you in any way possible.” Her breathing was a little ragged as she finished her rant, and Amber moved back to the piloting console.</p><p> </p><p>“Quiet,” Amber called out before touching a few buttons. “<em>Andante</em> responding.”</p><p> </p><p>“Respond visually, <em>Andante</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“That will require the authorization of our captain,” Amber replied, affecting resignation.</p><p> </p><p>“Then fetch them,” came the lazy reply.</p><p> </p><p>“It is their personal recreation time,” she returned, sounding reluctant.</p><p> </p><p>“They can continue their sexual activity at a later time. Retrieve them quickly, pilot.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Amber replied before killing the audio. She growled lowly, glaring at the console. “I am <em>not</em> your missive runner, asshat.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae snorted, some of his tension draining from his shoulders and his breathing calmer. He’d noticed that everyone had their own favorite Earth sayings they’d picked up from him, and Amber enjoyed a rather wide range of insults she’d picked up from him.</p><p> </p><p>“What the hell are you doing?” the admiral asked as Alex continued to pull her hair down, cursing when her fingers pulled her hair the wrong way.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m trying to save our asses since everyone else seems to be out of ideas. Amber, I need to borrow your shirt, Admiral, get out of that chair to a place you can’t be seen please. Park, go park your ass in Donghae’s seat, Lee Sora, you in the other chair while Donghae and Amber show you what you need to <em>look</em> like you know what you’re doing. Latu, try and give your hair that after-sex look, and for God’s sake, someone tell me who I’m supposed to be, what kind of ship I’ve got, and how many people <em>absolutely</em> need to be seen,” she said as she pulled her colorful blouse off and holding it out to Amber, apparently much to the embarrassment of everyone from Earth, who all found something interesting to look at on the walls or floors or the ceiling.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae looked at Zhou Mi and Song Qian, who both were looking a bit surprised. Amber quickly peeled her shirt off, exchanging it with Alex.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on, I need some answers to give them. Your faces are known, ours <em>aren’t</em>,” Alex said with a hint of pleading, her fingers rubbing at her scalp.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi shook his head slightly, getting himself back together. “It would be most believable if you give them a name that would lead them to believe you are connected to the Oshra clan.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s the clan that have people that look like me?” she asked, obviously referencing her dark skin.</p><p> </p><p>Zhou Mi nodded. “You would want to choose a clan name that begins with the same initial sound but not of Oshra itself, and your given name can be anything you wish. You will want to tell them that this is a former prison vessel that had been given to you to clear a debt, but you have not yet had the business to change the registry. One more should be in the weaponry chair to make it appear as though you have a full crew, plus extras that would be asleep.”</p><p> </p><p>“Since sexual activity has been used as the excuse for the delay, you should appear rushed and possibly unfinished,” Song Qian told Alex as she twisted her borrowed shirt slightly before reaching up to pinch Alex’s cheeks to bring some color in them and ruffling Alex’s tight curls to make it look like someone had been running their hands through her hair.</p><p> </p><p>Alex looked startled for a second. “You can see if I’m blushing or not?”</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian nodded. “Are you not able to?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not really…”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll explain later,” Hyukjae said, feeling a little snappy and exposed. He knew it was because Song Qian’s home planet orbited a star that was cooler than Sol, but there wasn’t time for anything besides a simple <em>yes</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“You are going to Qinyan for the large markets that occur for the Night of Lanterns festival to seek out business, it is very common for new cargo captains in this area to do that,” Song Qian continued as if she had never been interrupted. “You should speak to them as condescending and annoyed as possible, as they are pulling you away from more pleasurable activities and are holding your arrival back, risking your ability to acquire business there as only a certain number of cargo runners would be allowed.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex nodded. “Thanks, is there somewhere you can’t be seen?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, the only working visual contact is that one at the wall,” Hyukjae pointed out as Song Qian moved over to Samuel. “We’ll be along that wall in your line of sight in case you need some quick help.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you. Doc, hop into that weapons chair please.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why not just keep the admiral there?” Zoe groused.</p><p> </p><p>“Because patriarchy,” Alex shot back before shaking her head and taking a deep breath. “He’d be running the ship, not me,” she explained more calmly.</p><p> </p><p>“Doc, you’ll want to be leaning forward with your arms on your legs, so they don’t think that you’re going to attack them,” Hyukjae added. “Feel free to look annoyed as hell, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is there anything we should be doing?” Deokbon worried.</p><p> </p><p>“If you’re given to religion, pray I can pull this off while you’re hiding.” Hyukjae noticed that Alex was breathing harder, but fine otherwise. “How do I turn this on?” she asked, looking sharply at Hyukjae.</p><p> </p><p>“I got it,” Hyukjae volunteered as the twins helped the admiral to the wall.</p><p> </p><p>“Are they going to see you?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I can hit it from behind,” Hyukjae said as he went to the wall. “You ready?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae held up three fingers, counting down to the point he activated the camera before scooting along the wall to stay out of sight.</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck do you want?” Alex immediately snapped as soon as the Zhang captain had appeared, not even giving him time to say anything as Samuel crossed his arms behind her, glaring. “You are putting me off schedule for my arrival, and I demand to know your excuse for this.”</p><p> </p><p>The Zhang officer paused for a moment, obviously not expecting the ire. “Identify yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>“I am the captain of the <em>Andante</em>,” she snapped as she waved a hand dismissively. “I would have thought <em>that</em> to be obvious after you order my pilot around like some tributary servant to come and retrieve me.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae looked at her, deeply impressed.</p><p> </p><p>“Your name.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. “I am Captain Oshrin Amaka for whatever asinine bureaucratic form you have in front of you,” she said, perching her hands on her hips.</p><p> </p><p>“She is a very good entertainer,” Zhou Mi muttered quietly. “The correct amount of self-importance balanced with a slight fear of authority.”</p><p> </p><p>“A little <em>too</em> good,” Admiral Thorn replied just as quietly.</p><p> </p><p>“If it gets us out of this, I’m not going to complain in the slightest,” Hyukjae said as he moved along the wall to stand next to Donghae. Donghae relaxed into him as Hyukjae slid his arm around Donghae’s hip to hold him close as they listened to Alex’s answers to the Zhang captain’s questions about members of the supposed former crew.</p><p> </p><p>“You will remain in place for boarding.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, why? So you can ensure that I am not able to arrive at Qinyan? Are you going to be compensating me for the business I will lose while you are busy dicking around <em>within my ship</em> as you look for people that I have already informed you are not part of my crew?” Alex snapped. She suddenly tilted her head, her lips parting as if she just had a thought. “Or, here is a <em>much</em> better idea. I will find the name of your superior and have <em>them</em> compensate me for your wasting of my time. La’a, go –“</p><p> </p><p>The Zhang captain cleared his throat. “When did you purchase your ship again?”</p><p> </p><p>“Eight <em>farn</em> ago, and for the last time, I did <em>not</em> purchase it, the previous captain gave it to me to clear his debts,” Alex snapped, her voice tight. Hyukjae noticed that she’d shifted position slightly and had tucked one of her hands beneath her arm to make a fist, her knuckles pale.</p><p> </p><p>“They are having a difficult time breathing,” Amber whispered to him. “But they are determined to finish their entertaining.”</p><p> </p><p>“Your ship has not been updated…”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you need <em>business</em> for that. Do you think we are simply going to Qinyan for a good time?” she pointed out, just as patronizing as the other captain was. “With you keeping me here and with your plan for boarding, that is time and business I could have spent doing exactly what you are telling me I should do. I should send a bill to your supervisor anyway; I could probably have the registry for this ship changed for <em>free</em> at this point!”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Andante</em>, proceed directly to Qinyan and update the registry as soon as possible.”</p><p> </p><p>The holograph blinked out, and there was silence for a second before various noises of disbelief and joy sounded out from nearly everyone except Alex, who bent over from apparent relief. Amber looked conflicted for a second before she and Donghae ran to their seats to get them out of the jump point and on the way to Qinyan.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae had just started to move towards Alex as he remembered what Amber had said before Zoe interrupted him as Alex coughed.</p><p> </p><p>“Alex?” Zoe asked, the note of worry and snap of medical authority making everyone aside from the twins pause and look at Alex. She was still bent at the waist, her hand pressing into her chest as if she couldn’t breathe, and as the engines cut down to a background noise, Hyukjae could hear her wheezing on each exhale.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Shit</em>, where’s your inhaler?” Zoe snapped.</p><p> </p><p>“Blue one. My bag,” Alex forced out, her voice tight but airy, as if she was about to pass out.</p><p> </p><p>“On it,” Seungchul called as he was already halfway off the flight deck.</p><p> </p><p>Zoe maneuvered Alex around to where she was sitting in the weapons chair, hunched over and gripping the arms tightly as Zoe grabbed her wrist to keep track of her pulse.</p><p> </p><p>“What is the issue?” Song Qian asked, twisting her hair to keep it out of her way.</p><p> </p><p>“Asthma attack.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is this asthma?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s an airway constriction reaction that some people on Earth have, usually caused from allergies or stress.”</p><p> </p><p>“Here,” Seungchul said as he returned within another minute, holding out a dull blue-gray inhaler.</p><p> </p><p>Alex greedily inhaled the fast-acting medication, her body gradually losing some tenseness as her airway began to open back up.</p><p> </p><p>“So…”</p><p> </p><p>Zoe made a disapproving noise, glaring slightly at the admiral. “It can wait for another five minutes until I’m sure the medication is working. Sir,” she added on as an afterthought.</p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m okay,” Alex wheezed before she inhaled some more of the medication.</p><p> </p><p>“Bullshit, especially if that stress just triggered an attack.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the cold. I always have more attacks in the winter,” Alex said, her voice still shaky and slightly wheezing with each exhale as she leaned back into the weapons chair, clutching her inhaler protectively to her chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, but the stress doesn’t help either,” Zoe muttered.</p><p> </p><p>“NSA?” the admiral asked, not even withering at Zoe’s dark look.</p><p> </p><p>Alex made a disgusted noise. “No.”</p><p> </p><p>“CIA, then. I should have guessed the Company would send someone along.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is this CIA?” Zhou Mi asked, and Hyukjae noticed his hand drifting down towards his weapon.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s one of the spy – infiltrator – organizations,” Hyukjae rushed to explain.</p><p> </p><p>“Well of course they would send someone,” Zhou Mi replied, shaking his head, his body relaxing. “Infiltrators are usually the best judges of considerations of dangers that exist beyond a military comprehension.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey there’s someone talking some sense,” Alex said, her voice a little stronger. “Besides, I actually <em>do</em> work in diplomacy instead of in the field – for reasons you just saw,” she said, shaking her inhaler. “What does it matter what department of the government signs my paycheck?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I was going to ask how you knew my middle name, but never mind,” Samuel rumbled.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah well, I used mine, so fair game,” Alex returned before coughing.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, <em>you</em> need to get some sleep,” Zoe interrupted firmly. “In fact, everyone who doesn’t need to be here needs to get some sleep. We’ve got three hours to get a nap in before we have to do this nonsense all over again when we get there.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m still on watch,” Hyukjae immediately said. “Only the twins and I really need to be here – you two go to sleep,” he chided Zhou Mi and Song Qian, who snorted in amusement.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that is a sound suggestion,” Song Qian said, her smile tight, but nodding at Zoe. “Let us all return to our beds so that we are more rested for a future entertainment scheme.” Hyukjae could see the tension still hovering around Song Qian, and he was glad he could send her back to bed finally.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m all for that,” Kanghun muttered, yawning.</p><p> </p><p>Shooing everyone out of the flight deck once Alex and Amber had swapped their shirts back, Hyukjae promised that he would wake everyone before they arrived at Qinyan so they could get ready. He adjusted the projection images, only keeping the power levels and the image of the probe up before he dropped down into the weaponry chair and unlocked it, letting his mind blank as he softly rocked the chair back and forth. He would have one precious standard to relax and de-stress and though he wasn’t adept at anything beyond the basics for the power streams, he could at least watch for worrying dips.</p><p> </p><p>Once their flight to the next jump point was stabilized on a well-traveled path, the twins could break away from the heavy concentration of flight, something that they hadn’t had the luxury of doing while they were working on limited navigational data.</p><p> </p><p>“That was so stressful,” Amber complained before she sighed, sagging back into her seat as she unlocked it and turned it to face Hyukjae.</p><p> </p><p>“I am still irritated that we did not think of a probe as the cause for our recent troubles,” Donghae added as he unlocked his chair as well.</p><p> </p><p>“Same here,” Hyukjae agreed. “It makes everything fall into place, but I guess we’ve been just having to react so much that we haven’t had time to even think of that as a possibility.”</p><p> </p><p>Amber made an agreeing noise. “That does seem to be the situation. If we are able to recharge fully on Qinyan, that would give us the needed source of power to conduct more regular scans to ensure this does not happen again. And Twin…” she trailed off in warning.</p><p> </p><p>“I am not going to attempt to destroy a probe alone again,” Donghae replied swiftly. “I am unwilling to leave this current life to travel with our ancestors any time soon.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae smiled, even if the memory of Donghae’s near brush with death was still terrifying. “Good, because I don’t want to let you go.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae huffed a laugh before getting up from his seat and sitting on Hyukjae’s lap. “I am not willing to let you leave this current life without me, either,” he growled into Hyukjae’s ear before leaning in slightly to give him a kiss. “I do regret that we will not have as much time as we had accommodated for ourselves,” he finished as he pulled back.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to <em>make</em> time for us,” Hyukjae said, irritation at whoever had shot their ship with a probe sparking. He shifted slightly, letting the majority of Donghae’s weight be on the chair instead of on his legs before he pulled one leg up and over Donghae’s. “If we can land quietly on Qinyan with everyone else pretending to be a crew, we should be able to take some time for ourselves.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think that they will be able to infiltrate?” Amber asked.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know about my family so much, but we’ve already seen how well Alex can entertain, and I’m certain both Samuel and Seungchul can blend in easily since they have to be able to do so for their jobs.”</p><p> </p><p>“What function do they perform?” Donghae asked, tangling his fingers with Hyukjae’s.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re both part of a military section called special forces – their teams can function as infiltrators or as um… ah crap what are they… oh! Now I remember what they’d be called – they’re like the Imperial Elite Guard forces that can act as a self-contained unit.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” the twins chorused as they suddenly were able to connect an Earth concept to an Imperial one.</p><p> </p><p>“And Alex is an official infiltrator?” Amber asked as she idly fiddled with her necklace.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” Hyukjae admitted. “Like on one hand, she said that she was actually in the diplomatic field, but on the other hand she does work for the CIA.”</p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps it is that they perform diplomatic functions and their infiltration is merely to bring potential issues to their superior’s attention? There are many infiltrators that perform that same function that Twin and I have encountered.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that could be it,” Hyukjae agreed. He’d resolved that he wouldn’t ask Amber about how she addressed Alex simply because it was extremely likely that it was something that she’d picked up on a psychic level and it should be overlooked until Alex said something about it since it wouldn’t put them in immediate danger. “It would make a lot of sense to send someone like that, actually. You get a diplomatic person that can accurately assess threats on multiple levels. Since she works for the American Embassy in Korea, I’m guessing they picked her since she has that capability of being a diplomat and an infiltrator, and could translate between everyone since they don’t know about the translators, <em>and</em> have the added bonus of keeping my survival quiet if she was the one that contacted my family.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae looked distracted, tapping his fingers and staring at the image of the probe as Hyukjae and Amber chatted their stress levels down.</p><p> </p><p>“You okay?” he finally asked Donghae.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae’s lips flattened into a smile. “I am well, just attempting to formulate plans for dealing with that. Our resources are thin, and will be worse after we land, so we would not have many means of extraction beyond ourselves. It would also be useful to determine the nature of the probe as well – I cannot distinguish any markings that would indicate how best to proceed with removal. But I am reluctant to divert power while we are in flight, so that will have to be done after we arrive at Qinyan.”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s different types of locator probes?” Hyukjae asked. Even after six years, he was still learning things.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae hummed. “There are three manufacturers that produce locator probes officially, and that one does not look like illegal manufacture, so we will have to assume that it is an official Imperial production. There are three levels of them as well. The one I attempted to dismantle myself was the most advanced type with multiple traps to discourage any tampering. If it is like that, we will have to attempt to locate and purchase some sophisticated equipment to assist us with removal so that no one is likely to be injured or killed. A less advanced kind will not be easy, but we might be able to accomplish it without considerable strain and without needing to locate rare commodities.” He sighed and shook his head. “That will have to wait until we have landed on Qinyan safely before we can make any further plans.”</p><p> </p><p>Amber looked up. “Park Seungchul is coming. And he is thinking very loudly,” she muttered.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae curled his hand around Donghae’s waist to keep him on his lap. Donghae’s lips turned upward. “He holds no issues with our relationship, both Twin and I can sense that. I do not wish to move until I must.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae sighed, irritated at himself. “I think I’ve reverted back a little to the Earth mindset where it’s a reaction to keep my attractions and partners secret, but I’m also trying to fight against it, and I guess it’s also testing boundaries a little.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve seen more disturbing things in a movie than your boyfriend sitting in your lap,” Seungchul said as he walked into the flight deck, obviously having heard Hyukjae. “Mind if I snag your seat?”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae nodded his head once. “Should you not be getting more sleep?”</p><p> </p><p>Seungchul shook his head as he took a sip of coffee. “Too wired. I had a power nap, so I’m good for a day or so. Sam’s on his way up too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sam?” Hyukjae asked curiously.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah big guy, has the multitude of gay cousins?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae rolled his eyes. “I didn’t realize you two were close already,” he clarified.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Seungchul took another sip of his coffee, and Hyukjae could swear that he saw the man’s brain starting to kick into gear. “We’re the same age, roughly the same rank, and we do similar jobs, so we just said fuck social titles and went to our nicknames.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” Hyukjae said, nodding.</p><p> </p><p>Amber curled a leg under her, swinging her seat as Samuel walked in. “You were thinking very loudly,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>Seungchul nodded. “We’re really not trying to sneak up on you, but we’ve both been trained to move silently. So, it’s a decent way of letting you guys have some noise to know that we’re coming.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I can’t exactly drag my shoes,” Samuel added. “You got any other seats around here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sadly no,” Hyukjae said. “This is all a normal flight deck would have for this size of a ship.”</p><p> </p><p>“Here,” Seungchul said, scooting over to leave Samuel a decent amount of space to sit. “I’m glad you could actually hear that; I was literally testing to see if it’d work.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah I’m not particularly thrilled at the thought of getting killed just because I don’t have a habit of making noise, so if thinking kind of loud will let the twins know I’m coming, I can definitely do that,” Samuel said as he sat down, sipping at his own cup of coffee. “Nothing I can do for you, but since you’re normally near them, they can warn you.”</p><p> </p><p>“That is a concern for you?” Amber asked.</p><p> </p><p>“He said not to sneak up on any of you because you have really bad reactions to it, and we’ve seen you all reaching for your guns more than once without thinking,” Seungchul said, waving his hand towards Hyukjae. “We’re taking that seriously, especially after we heard why you’re all so twitchy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Reminds me to ask – are there more of people like you out there?” Samuel asked, tilting his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Not that we are aware of. Twin and I were part of the experiments to how far the genetic modifications would work, and we were the first ones that had survived the entire process from the experiments that had been carried out for two generations. As he freed us, Zhou Mi destroyed much of the data that was used in that location,” Donghae answered as he rubbed his thumb against Hyukjae’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>Samuel sighed. “That sucks for you two, but that is such a relief to me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why’s that?” Hyukjae wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Look man, I’ve gone through SEAL training, I’ve faced down terrorists with nothing more than my bare hands, but the twins? <em>Nope</em>. You couldn’t pay me enough to try and go one on one with either of them and that’s even before their eyes start glowing. I also heard what wasn’t said about when they went to get you. I’m guessing they used nothing but themselves and it was <em>way</em> messier than what anyone said. And I’m not even starting to factor Zhou Mi into this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you two avoid him a little?” Seungchul asked.</p><p> </p><p>Amber shook her head. “Twin and I have developed great affection and love towards him and Song Qian, the only reason it might be seen as avoidance is because of the repair schedule we had arranged.” She turned as the console beeped once, tapping at the screen.</p><p> </p><p>“Need us to move?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, we are on a well-traveled jump path towards Qinyan, so it does not take as much concentration as it did when we were around Earth and on the edges of Imperial space. Navigational data is far more secure, so we are able to use the automatic pilot. This is just a check that we have not drifted off of our path,” Amber answered, turning back around.</p><p> </p><p>“I have to start waking people up with the next check,” Hyukjae said. “Assuming they don’t wander in like you two.”</p><p> </p><p>Samuel turned his head to look at the projection table. “We still being chased?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Donghae answered. “We should have several standards to decide how best to proceed with removing or disabling the probe when we land on Qinyan, but we will not be able to determine anything until we do land and can see the probe clearly.”</p><p> </p><p>“The always fun wait-and-see wait,” Samuel grumbled. “Is there a good way to detach it that everyone uses?”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae shook his head. “There are a few ways, but they differ based on the advancement and manufacture of the probe. It does not appear to be illegal manufacture, so we will not have to contend with unexpected issues, but there are three levels of advancement that is impossible to verify until we can see it clearly. It is unadvisable to attempt to dismantle one by oneself – as I discovered.” He sighed and leaned his head against Hyukjae’s shoulder. “It will be a tense wait and one that I cannot move forward.”</p><p> </p><p>“So how much longer?”</p><p> </p><p>“About one-third of a standard,” Amber answered as she checked the readout.</p><p> </p><p>“Which is about an hour,” Hyukjae added.</p><p> </p><p>“If it’s going to be that long, I’m going to head back down the mess,” Samuel said as he stood up. “As much fun as it is talking, my back’s starting to hurt from this weird seating arrangement, and I want some more coffee.”</p><p> </p><p>“Shouldn’t you be rationing that?” Hyukjae asked. “We don’t know how long it’s going to actually be until we can get back to Earth and there’s nothing really like coffee out there.”</p><p> </p><p>Samuel snorted. “Brah, I always pack like I’m going to stay somewhere for at least a month. I’ve got plenty even if I share.”</p><p> </p><p>Seungchul stood up as well. “I should get some food; I’m getting too old to function on only coffee. You’ll come grab us when it’s time?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded. “Can’t do it without you,” he teased as Samuel and Seungchul left the flight deck.</p><p> </p><p>“Those two are most interesting,” Donghae commented with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, they are,” Hyukjae agreed. He frowned as he saw both Amber and Donghae look behind him at the entrance. “At this rate, I don’t think I’m going to have to wake anyone up,” he grumbled as he turned his head to see who else was awake.</p><p> </p><p>Alex wound up coughing on her way in, but at least Hyukjae wasn’t hearing any wheezing.</p><p> </p><p>“Shouldn’t you try to sleep?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>Alex shook her head. “It’s harder than hell trying to sleep or rest after an attack. I’d also just wake myself up from coughing every so often.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay… are you going to be able to play captain again? Because we’re about an hour out of Qinyan and there’s not a good way to turn around.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be fine,” Alex countered. “An asthma attack doesn’t kill my mind, it just makes it a little hard to breathe. I’m just uncomfortable enough that I can’t sleep.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae hummed. “I have experienced that sensation before.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think we all have at some point,” Hyukjae agreed, feeling a bit chastised. “Have a seat,” he said as he waved his hand towards Donghae’s empty seat.</p><p> </p><p>“Speaking of being captain, do any of you have suggestions for something I should change? I know it worked on a once-off with someone who was bored with their job, but I’m guessing the landing on Qinyan is going to be a bit more difficult,” she asked as she pulled out her notebook and a pen. “I’d like to have a full story together so I’m not making things up on the fly.”</p><p> </p><p>“We are unaware if the space controller position on Qinyan has changed in the past several cycles,” Amber started. “If it has not, his name is Chang Ba. He only enjoys the privileges that come with his station, not the work of the station.”<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“And he’ll be expecting a bribe for landing?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. We have enough resources for a modest bribe with no intense scrutiny with him, but any space controller would be most curious about a new cargo captain. You will be forced to repeat your statement about how you acquired the ship, if any of the former crew are still aboard, and a full crew list will need to be fabricated so that we may land on Qinyan,” Donghae replied.</p><p> </p><p>“Are there something like docks or specific sites or does anyone just land wherever on the surface?”</p><p> </p><p>“For larger cargo ships like ours, we will be allowed to land at specific authorized locations that are away from inhabited places but have facilities, and we can use the cargo runner for in-atmosphere journeys. It is a routine matter for ships to land to conduct repairs that would be considered too dangerous to perform in space, or to flush the air filters.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex tapped her pen against her cheek for a second. “Would it be believable for a new captain to request landing so that they could inspect a ship they had just purchased?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Hyukjae said. “It would probably lend some credence to your story of being given the ship to clear some debts. You’d want to check it over in atmosphere and definitely flush the life support systems to make sure it’s in full working order. Since we’re not sure who the current space controller is, we can’t really say for sure what to expect on that front. Chang Ba would probably try to get a bigger bribe out of you since you’re new and you’re requesting to land, so he might think you’re easy money.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex grinned. “I’ll be very happy to disabuse him of that thought. Okay, so crew list needs to get made up,” she paused for a second to cough, wincing. “And I have to remember what I said to that guy just in case anything’s been forwarded. Also, is there any way for a ship or a planet to check heat signatures or anything to see how many people are on board?”</p><p> </p><p>“Only ships have that sort of capabilities, but those are mostly used for alerts when a ship is landed and has all access ports open,” Amber said, pulling her other leg up.</p><p> </p><p>“So kind of like a security warning rather than checking if someone’s lying about how many people are on board?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. I am not certain how that would be achieved without significant technological advances or what the purpose of that would be.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae snorted a laugh. “Remember how I said we love scaring ourselves silly with our entertainment broadcasts? That’s just one thing we can come up with.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I’m not exactly the Predator or the alien queen,” Alex joked.</p><p> </p><p>“There is one thing you have to be aware of, though,” Hyukjae said. “Sol is higher in the main sequence than the stars of a lot of worlds, including Qinyan. A lot of people see farther into the near-infrared and infrared than we can, so things will either look solid black, much redder than what we’re used to, or we’re able to see things that are invisible to others. So some people can see hints of heat signatures like the Predator, but that’s towards the lower end of their vision. That’s why Song Qian can actually see if you’re blushing or not.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, but there’s no way they can see through ships, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Right.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can work with that. Do know offhand what kind of visible light the Oshra would have?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shook his head. “You’d have to check with Zhou Mi to see if he does. I don’t want to mess with any power related things until Song Qian wakes up so I can’t check the internal version of astronomical Wikipedia. We unhooked it to keep our power signature at a minimum while we tried to recharge.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fair enough,” she coughed. “Ugh, I hate being so asthmatic.”</p><p> </p><p>“Have you had your condition for a long time?” Amber asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Ever since I was a kid. It makes it easier for me to deal with since I’ve had it for so long, but at the same time it’s incredibly annoying because I’m tired of it.” She waited a beat. “You all are taking everything pretty calmly.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh the whole thing with you getting your pay from the CIA instead of the State Department?” Hyukjae asked. He shook his head and waved a hand. “No need to get worked up about it, especially since you just literally saved us from being arrested, killed, or worse. Don’t sell us out to a high bidder and you’re fine.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex looked slowly from Donghae to Amber and then back to Hyukjae, quirking her eyebrows. “After they wiped out a facility to get you back? No thanks, I can wait for a better job if I want money.” She sighed, twirling her pen in her fingers. “I think I’m going to head downstairs to get some tea and food and sketch up something resembling a backstory so we can land.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded as she stood. “Good idea, I’ve got to wake everyone up within an hour, so that gives you some time.”</p><p> </p><p>“See you then,” she called out as she left the flight deck.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae arched his eyebrows at the twins, already knowing why they had been quiet.</p><p> </p><p>“They spoke truthfully,” Amber replied after a moment. “A little stressed at the amount of work they have to do, but very truthful about not turning us over to authorities.”</p><p> </p><p>“As I think over the past standards, it seems that everyone is being extremely truthful in their statements,” Donghae added.</p><p> </p><p>“It is perhaps that they are now aware of our abilities to gauge the truthfulness of what is said, Twin.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm, that could be.”</p><p> </p><p>“Since everyone’s mentioned the one time you had to come for me, I think that scared them a little too,” Hyukjae said, rubbing his hand over Donghae’s leg and enjoying the feel of solid muscles there.</p><p> </p><p>Amber snorted. “I am certain that it frightened everyone a great deal. And since we did not disclose what other incidents we have encountered, it is unlikely they are aware that you should be considered just as dangerous as Twin and I, if not more so.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded. “Yeah, probably my mistake for not bringing up some of those times.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae reached up and ran his fingers through Hyukjae’s hair. “We all knew that you needed to move on from the memories of that place, and it is understandable that you would wish to shield your family that still thinks of you one way from that knowledge.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae sighed. “But it’s not fair to the rest of you. I didn’t even realize how much I was minimizing my role in that to make it seem like more things happened to me than what I’ve caused to happen.”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae smiled. “None of us resent you for it. It is imperative that your report was said the way it was so that your people are able to make an informed decision rather than questioning the validity of it because they would not morally agree with some actions that we have undertaken.”</p><p> </p><p>“It does make you our… ace?” Amber said, her head tilting inquisitively.</p><p> </p><p>“Ace up the sleeve,” Hyukjae corrected.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that. You should keep some things concealed unless it is necessary to show them.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded, understanding what the twins were saying. It made sense to keep some things quiet – even though he wouldn’t exactly be proud of some of his decisions and actions – unless it was absolutely necessary to display them. No one from Earth really needed to know what killing someone that represented a clear threat to his little found family did to him. They didn’t need to know about his satisfaction or the giddy high that came from it, making him feel powerful and unhinged, and they certainly didn’t need to know how many people he’d killed in the name of protecting those he loved, or of how he’d adjusted his own morality to fit with the norms of the Zhang Empire.</p><p> </p><p>“You have survived and adjusted,” Donghae said, placing a soft kiss on Hyukjae’s lips.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae grinned widely and lifted his face just slightly to capture Donghae’s lips, moaning a bit in the back of his throat as Donghae plunged his tongue into Hyukjae’s mouth.</p><p> </p><p>Amber snorted softly. “I will call you when it is time to wake the others,” she said. Hyukjae couldn’t answer her verbally since his mouth was full of Donghae, so he gave her a quick thumbs up and shot her a thought of his love and affection to her.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae moved, coming around to straddle Hyukjae’s legs without breaking their kiss, and Hyukjae happily grabbed Donghae’s fleshy ass, pulling his lover closer. Letting his desire take control of his imagination, he sucked on Donghae’s tongue like he had Donghae’s dick in his mouth, imagining their soon to be had time to themselves. He moaned a little more when Donghae tilted his head the way he wanted, keeping control of their kiss, and Hyukjae melted as he remembered the intense pleasure he would feel with Donghae inside of him. Donghae held his head still as he pulled back, his eyes starting to turn blue as he stared down at Hyukjae.</p><p> </p><p>“I am going to enjoy bringing you to orgasm like that,” Donghae growled at him, his voice barely loud enough to hear. Hyukjae felt a shiver roll down his back at the wildness in Donghae’s gaze and the soft growls he could feel vibrating into him, and he let his head tilt slightly into Donghae’s left hand. He loved it when Donghae’s animalistic instinct came to the forefront and he could submit to it, providing Donghae’s wild side a soothing, loving gesture. He could feel his dick hardening just imagining the incredible orgasm Donghae would wring from his body, and Donghae growled as he swooped back down, kissing him passionately. Hyukjae’s eyes fluttered closed, only to pop back open in irritation as he heard the check in beep from the console.</p><p> </p><p>Sighing heavily, he pressed his forehead against Donghae’s. “Soon,” he promised.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae’s growls were just as irritated as what Hyukjae felt for the interruption, but they both knew too well their responsibilities. “Soon,” Donghae repeated before standing up.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae stood up and stretched before wandering up to the pilot console to kiss Amber’s cheek. “Thanks for the break.”</p><p> </p><p>Amber’s eyes were amused as she looked up at him. “I am usually painfully aware of when you both need them,” she joked.</p><p> </p><p>Both he and Donghae laughed. “Okay I’m going to go wake everyone up, I’ll be right back.”</p><p> </p><p>His first stop was their shared prison-level cells to wake up Zhou Mi and Song Qian. He wasn’t surprised to find them both on Zhou Mi’s sleeping pad with their clothes scattered across the room, and blanket barely covering their bare bodies, but their shoes placed neatly at the edge of the sleeping pad. Zhou Mi had one long arm stretched out and he had no hesitation about snuggling into Zhou Mi’s side, his hand softly stroking Song Qian’s arm.</p><p> </p><p>“Time to wake?” Song Qian asked, her voice heavy with sleep.</p><p> </p><p>“Yep,” he said. “You feeling better?”</p><p> </p><p>She hummed. “I am well now after our sexual activity and a nap. I was very shaken from that encounter and still extremely frustrated at our power situation.”</p><p> </p><p>“As was I,” Zhou Mi rumbled, his hand coming up to run through Hyukjae’s hair. “We will be up soon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” he said, leaning up and over to give them both an affectionate kiss. “Gotta go wake everyone else up now,” he said as he stood back up.</p><p> </p><p>Before he went knocking on doors, he stopped off in the crew area to see if anyone else was already up besides the three he’d already seen. Sora was sitting at the table, her hair a little mussed, looking deep in thought as Seungchul, Samuel, and Alex tossed ideas back and forth.</p><p> </p><p>“Anyone else up and wandering around?” he asked, startling everyone. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly.</p><p> </p><p>“Haven’t seen anyone else yet,” Sora finally replied.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“Time to get ready?” Alex asked, her voice stronger as she pinned half of her hair to the back of her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Yep, we’re starting to come up on Qinyan’s jump point,” he said as he backed out of the doorway.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, we’ll head up.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shunted the wonder at what was bothering Sora, focusing on the task ahead. Knocking on doors, he got everyone awake and at least moving before he wandered back up to the flight deck.</p><p> </p><p>“The Night of Lanterns is a three solar day cycle event, and the markets will be very crowded at all times. It is the most popular festival in this area of the Empire, and many rare goods will be available from merchants looking to make their profits,” Song Qian said as he walked in. “Alex Nelson, you will contact the space controller after we have arrived. You will need to look dispassionate as if you are able to go anywhere to get your business, but also try to have some slight need showing through. Many merchants based on Qinyan make the majority of their profits for their entire solar cycle during the Night of Lanterns, so the space controller will have pressure to allow many ships authorization to land and for many to attend even if they stay in orbit.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex nodded. “Okay, as for the bribe, will the controller initiate that part?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, you will have to coach it in routine business speech.”</p><p> </p><p>“Like landing fees?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that would be appropriate language. The controller will also want visual, as there are many things they would not want recorded on audio.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hand gestures?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Hyukjae said, finally announcing his presence. He rubbed his thumb against two of his fingers with a smirk. “There’s a few things that can be universal.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex snorted. “That’s one hand gesture I won’t have any problems interpreting.”</p><p> </p><p>“We will stay within your visual range to help communicate,” Zhou Mi added. “Hyukjae will also need to add more information about things to expect.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded. “There will be anything and everything available for a price on Qinyan, including people, so please try not to react to that. It’s going to suck, but my only suggestion is to look away – we don’t have the resources or the space to free everyone, and there will be a <em>lot</em> of slaves and tribute there. If anyone tries to get you to buy, a ship’s captain would have to authorize the purchase of a slave first, so aside from Alex, everyone can defer to that. I’m not going to lie, it’s hard to have to look at it and know that there’s nothing you can do,” he said with a frown. “But once we figure out the entire situation with the probe, we’ll have to comb through the markets for supplies to remove it or disable it without getting anyone killed or captured, and we can’t do that if people are after us. And once it is gone, we absolutely <em>have</em> to restock our own supplies which is going to run us even shorter of resources. It sucks and I wish I didn’t have to tell you to do that, but that’s our current situation.” He saw the disgruntled but resigned looks as everyone nodded and he waited a moment before continuing. “Qinyan’s star is somewhat close to Sol on the main sequence, but it’s redder, so everything is going to look either solid black or redder than what you’re used to. It’s the same on a lot of worlds, but our type of vision isn’t unusual, so to look for things, we’ll have to rely more on shapes rather than colors. Everyone know your story and what you’re supposed to look like you’re doing?”</p><p> </p><p>“How do we transfer a crew list?” Alex asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have one prepared?” Song Qian returned.</p><p> </p><p>Alex held out her notebook, already open to the relevant page. “I think I’ve got everyone that can be seen accounted for, plus at least one more for each.”</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian nodded. “I will have to return to the communications area to input this list quickly.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you need help?” Samuel asked.</p><p> </p><p>Song Qian shook her head. “This needs to be done before we arrive. I will return shortly,” she said as she took the notebook and nearly ran to the lift.</p><p> </p><p>“Noona, Seungchul, come over here so Twin and I may show you the basics of flight,” Donghae said.</p><p> </p><p>“Doc, you’re going to want to do the same thing as before, resting your hands on your legs and leaning forward.”</p><p> </p><p>Zoe nodded. “Is something triggered by leaning back?”</p><p> </p><p>“It pops the weaponry screens up, which some people could take as a sign of aggression,” he explained. “Most weaponry operators will adopt the same posture to indicate that they’re not going to attack.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, okay,” she said as she sat down in the chair, yelping as it twisted around. “<em>Dammit</em> that’s the second time already,” she complained, looking on either side of the chair to find the button.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae rolled his eyes, amused. “Mom? Dad? Do you want to stay up here or wait down in the crew area?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll stay up here,” Deokbon said, nervously tucking her hair into place.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay we’re going to have to hide along the wall again since we don’t want to give the impression of too many people on board.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hyukjae? I am cycling through,” Song Qian said.</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed,” he replied, tapping on the screen for the ship’s interior, seeing her beacon lighting up. He split his attention between watching Song Qian move down the hallway and watching the navigational readout that indicated how close they were to dropping out.</p><p> </p><p>“Updating crew list now,” Song Qian said.</p><p> </p><p>“We will be arriving soon,” Amber called out.</p><p> </p><p>“Make sure that light stays red until it turns off, okay? If it turns white, say so immediately,” he told Zoe, pointing at Song Qian’s beacon light before he walked to the wall behind the only working projection screen where Zhou Mi was already standing, talking quietly with Kanghun and Admiral Thorn.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae noticed Alex standing still, her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes closed as she took deep breaths in what he guessed was an attempt to keep her stress levels down.</p><p> </p><p>“List complete,” Song Qian said. “I will remain long enough to transfer.”</p><p> </p><p>“Copy,” Zoe said.</p><p> </p><p>“Where is Hyukjae?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hiding. I think we’re almost there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Confirmed.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae watched Alex as they dropped out, and as her eyes slowly opened, Hyukjae could tell there was a certain shift in her personality, a stage presence that made him believe that she was Captain Oshrin Amaka. The twins gave up their seats for Seungchul and Sora, and Hyukjae noticed that the previous few minutes of coaching made their motions smoother. Both Donghae and Amber came to stand next to him as the console beeped after a minute.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Andante</em>, greetings from Qinyan. State your intentions and prepare for data transfer.”</p><p> </p><p>“Qinyan, we on the <em>Andante</em> greet you,” Alex replied calmly, her voice taking on a slightly different cadence to make it sound more like Zhou Mi’s speech patterns. “Our business is purchasing cargo and availing ourselves to the prosperous merchants that wish to move their wares between worlds.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Adante</em>, initiate visual communications for negotiations.”</p><p> </p><p>Just as before, Hyukjae held up three fingers, counting down to flipping turning the visuals on.</p><p> </p><p>“I am Oshrin Amaka, captain and owner of the <em>Andante</em>,” Alex told the older man that appeared. Hyukjae could reasonably make out Chang Ba’s features and scowled a little. He mouthed the name to her, and she lifted a finger slightly to indicate she understood. Hyukjae could see Chang Ba’s eyes take in Alex’s appearance as he registered the name.</p><p> </p><p>“I am Chang Ba, space controller of the prosperous world of Qinyan. We are honored with a visit from the people of Oshra. As I am sure you are aware, the Night of Lanterns is upon us.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex nodded. “Yes, that is the reason for our visit. We are aware of the need of many of Qinyan’s merchants for a <em>reputable</em> cargo transport for their goods to arrive at their customer’s worlds without damage or loss.”</p><p> </p><p>Chang Ba nodded slightly. “Yes, there are many that visit us for that purpose, far more than what is actually required,” he said, sounding regretful.</p><p> </p><p>Alex arched her eyebrows, looking unimpressed to Hyukjae. “Of course, there are many that would seek their profits at this time, and we would be yet another among many. However, I’m sure you are aware of that the trustworthiness of others is not always available to their customers and I have begun building my business clients on my careful handling and protection of their goods.” She shrugged. “If you are absolutely certain that there are more than enough cargo captains already available, we are able to seek new clients elsewhere,” she said, waving a hand as if to cut off the projections.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah… perhaps I was a bit… hasty in estimating how many cargo captains have arrived…” Chang Ba tilted his head, stroking a finger along his chin.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae waved his hand slightly to get Alex’s attention before he rolled his hands around each other in a circle to indicate that she should continue on.</p><p> </p><p>“If you will wait a moment while I check the registers,” Chang Ba continued.</p><p> </p><p>Alex nodded her head once, folding one arm across her chest to tuck her hand under her other arm while she shifted into a more relaxed stance.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, our estimates were off as some vessels have not arrived,” Chang Ba said with a smile, as if he was presenting Alex with a gift. Hyukjae rolled his eyes and shook his head a little.</p><p> </p><p>Alex tilted her head. “We would not wish to profit at another’s expense if they have arrived for several cycles, and while I had hoped to grow my business with the many merchants on Qinyan, we would probably be able to encounter additional clients elsewhere…” she said, looking regretful.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure there are many merchants available at the Night of Lanterns that would appreciate your business and your morals,” Chang Ba cajoled, looking to Hyukjae as though he was slightly panicked at potentially running off a lucrative connection.</p><p> </p><p>“If you are certain that some previous captains will not be available, we would be most pleased to offer our services to their former clients,” Alex replied, tapping two fingers against her leg after Hyukjae had done the same movement, then pointed at her.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course! There are many new merchants such as yourself this cycle as well throughout the markets. We are ready to receive your crew and cargo lists.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex nodded sharply. “Have the information forwarded,” she called back to Zoe, who nodded in return, speaking quietly to Song Qian.</p><p> </p><p>Chang Ba looked surprised. “Your communications connection is non-functional?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae pantomimed being angry, then moved his hands to mime landing the ship. Alex snorted, looking derisive. “Some people are untrustworthy to repay their debts fully, and the worthless sack of animal feces that gave me this ship to wipe their debt is one of them. As the hand off was done at a jump point, we were unable to conduct a full inspection at the time,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>“We would be most pleased to offer you the opportunity to conduct that inspection in safe conditions and at a most convenient location,” Chang Ba said, quickly rubbing his thumb against two fingers as he tugged at his earlobe as if in thought.</p><p> </p><p>“I would appreciate that opportunity, Chang Ba, and we of course would be happy to take responsibility for any landing fees that would be incurred…” Alex replied as she repeated the gesture under her arm.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, our landing fees are modest at most, but we would need to visually inspect your cargo.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex tapped at her lips when she noticed Hyukjae telling her to, he mimed looking around, as if he was inspecting for something. “I will be happy to allow that inspection after we have completed a full inspection of the ship. You can certainly understand my concern for your safety after the unpleasant surprises I was faced with. I would wish to ensure the well-being of any visitor to my ship,” she finally said.</p><p> </p><p>Chang Ba sighed happily. “You are a most courteous captain to consider safety as a priority. Please proceed with your landing sequence so that we may arrange a mutually beneficial time for inspection. Have your pilots follow Beacon Shinai for landing.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex smiled just enough to curve the corners of her lips up. “Thank you for your hospitality, Chang Ba. I look forward to helping the merchants of Qinyan prosper,” she said, bowing slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“We will appreciate and welcome your presence,” he replied formally, bowing as well before the projection cut off.</p><p> </p><p>“Off,” Hyukjae said as he closed down the connection.</p><p> </p><p>Alex sighed gustily, her posture loosening. “Is every place like this?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Thankfully not,” Zhou Mi said as the twins retook their piloting seats, navigating them onto Qinyan. “Most worlds are much simpler, but Chang Ba seems to enjoy the games he plays and he has been well-established on Qinyan for several Emperor’s reigns.”</p><p> </p><p>“So until he dies, it’s just business?”</p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely.”</p><p> </p><p>Zoe stood up from the chair, stretching. “She’s starting to cycle back through,” she told Hyukjae, who nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Samuel was staring pensively at the image of the probe as Hyukjae stood beside him. “How do you kill a probe?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae shrugged. “We’d have to see who made it and what type it is first, which is going to require some power hookups that we can’t initiate until we land.”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you refuel on the surface?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded. “We’ll probably have that arranged by Chang Ba to get charged up, but hopefully we can pull something off the probe to use for barter.”</p><p> </p><p>Samuel nodded. “If it comes down to it, we can probably get him some <em>exclusive access</em> to a new drink.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae snorted, guessing what he meant. “Coffee is a very precious commodity and would probably fetch a very good price.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah and these guys wouldn’t know the difference between the cheap shit I brought with me and pure Ka‘u anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ka-you?” Hyukjae repeated.</p><p> </p><p>“Ka‘u,” Samuel corrected. “It’s a district back home on the Big Island that grows some damn good coffee now that the sugar plantations closed up, but it’s such a tiny area that has the right climate to grow coffee that it can get really expensive.” He looked over as Song Qian entered the flight deck and everyone began to gather at the projection table. The shielding took the major brunt of atmospheric entry, but the ship still rocked slightly as the twins corrected for high speed winds, following the beacon down to their assigned landing spot outside of Qinyan’s capital city.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay what was I saying to him?” Alex asked. “With the gestures, I mean.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae tapped at his leg with two fingers. “That was to say that you are open to him suggesting some business contacts, be it for legal cargo or black market items.” He tapped at his lips. “That was an indication that you would need some <em>special</em> time allowance to get some potentially not-legal items that are already on board stored away for an official inspection. He might try to up his bribe price because of it, but there’s a limit to what people would consider to be acceptable and you can poke his ego down with that. And I think we have just enough to cover it, but if you can haggle him down, that would be very helpful too.”</p><p> </p><p>“We are landing,” Donghae called over before the ship bounced lightly. “Opening access ports and initiating flush of life support.”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae yawned as his ears popped, feeling the ship rocking as warm, damp air flooded into places that had previously been in vacuum, and the constant hiss of life support stopped. He noticed everyone else yawning or swallowing in an attempt to get their ears to equalize to the air pressure.</p><p> </p><p>“Am I supposed to feel kind of light? Well lighter than what we already were feeling,” Zoe asked, bouncing on her toes as the artificial gravity turned off.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, Qinyan is smaller than Earth, so it’s got a slightly lower gravity,” he explained as Song Qian cursed under her breath as she reconnected power streams and Donghae came up beside him, giving him a loving kiss. “You won’t bounce by stepping, but you’ll feel lighter than normal.”</p><p> </p><p>“Connect together you blasted piece of mechanized <em>jintha</em> spit,” Song Qian growled before the stream she was cursing at finally glowed. “<em>My thanks</em>,” she told it sarcastically as she turned the brighter lights on in the area around the probe.</p><p> </p><p>“Well fuck –” Hyukjae muttered, then suddenly stopped as he noticed something different. Instead of an entirely opaque white surface like he was expecting, there was a clear purple band near the base. While he puzzled over that, Donghae leaned against the projection table and dropped his head with a displeased moan as Zhou Mi, Song Qian, and Amber all made similar noises.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s either the really advanced type or the one you tried to take apart yourself, isn’t it?” Seungchul asked Donghae.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae nodded without lifting his head. “It is both of those at the same time, and it is the same one that almost killed me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Options?” Admiral Thorn asked. “What capabilities does it have?”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae sighed as he lifted his head. “It most likely has anti-personnel explosive devices to prevent tampering numbering from five to potentially ten that can be detonated by the internal system. It has shielding much like a ship does, which prevents anything from range disabling it. There are… multiple pieces of expensive and difficult to locate supplies that would be required to safely convince the internal system that the operator has the proper authorizations to shut it down, and it must be done close to the probe itself.”</p><p> </p><p>Seungchul scowled as he looked at the probe. “Can you blow it up before it blows you up?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Amber said. “The shielding would likely prevent anything with that high of an energy level from impacting, or it would cause all of the charges on the probe itself to detonate, and in that location, it would damage the ship beyond repair.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are the entire computer systems in that color band?” Sora asked as she tilted her head.</p><p> </p><p>“In the white area near the base, yes,” Donghae answered.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a transparent color to us,” Hyukjae said, tracing out the area on the projection.</p><p> </p><p>“You can see inside it?” Donghae asked, startled.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded. “I only saw the one you were working on after it blew up on you, so I thought it was opaque, but no I can see right through it into the electronics,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“That still leaves the problem of the shielding,” Donghae pointed out. “The probe’s shields are almost as advanced as a ship’s shields are.”</p><p> </p><p>“What kind of material is this? It looks plastic, but I’m guessing metal?” Admiral Thorn asked.</p><p> </p><p>Donghae nodded. “It is similar material to what a ship is built from.”</p><p> </p><p>“What does it take to puncture through it?” Samuel asked quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“The outer structure can be easy to puncture if hit in the correct way, but if you can see through it, then it is probably made of a much weaker substance. However, the shielding would resist a high-speed impact of our weapons.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you thinking Latu?” the admiral asked, noticing the expression on Samuel’s face.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that thing so smart it’s stupid? Can you shoot it?”</p><p> </p><p>“With what?” Hyukjae returned, patting his weapon. “This is literally all we have.”</p><p> </p><p>“How about with a gun?”</p><p> </p><p>“I must have neglected to pack one in my suitcase,” Hyukjae muttered. “I’m not getting it.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve covered all of the high-tech stuff. What about low tech? Guns, spears, arrows, rocks? Is there a sweet spot of speed that’s low enough to get through the shields but high enough to get through the metal and screw the electronics?”</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae froze in place, blinking rapidly.</p><p> </p><p>“What are these weapons?”</p><p> </p><p>“Pro – projectiles,” Hyukjae answered before he blew his breath out harshly as his temper ignited. All of the risks they’d taken and their close brushes with death could have been avoided if he’d simply thought of the most <em>utterly</em> simplistic solutions. Clenching his hands into fists, he dug his nails into his palms to give him something to focus on instead of flying into a rage. “You have your gun?” he asked flatly, staring at the probe.</p><p> </p><p>“Never leave home without it,” Samuel swiftly replied.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve got mine, too,” Seungchul added.</p><p> </p><p>“Same,” Zoe chimed in. “What? I didn’t have time to return my gear before I was hustled onto a chopper,” she said, presumably in reaction to others right before both the admiral and Alex mentioned they had likewise brought their sidearms.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae, for his part, wasn’t angry at the weapons they carried since he was standing directly above their own armory of illegal weapons, but he was utterly, blindingly furious with himself and his hands were starting to shake with the effort of keeping his rage in check. “What’s the muzzle velocity?” he asked icily.</p><p> </p><p>“Three fifty meters per second for my Sig Sauer,” Samuel said, a little hesitatingly.</p><p> </p><p>“I need something to write on and with,” he bit out. “What’s the lowest limit of the shielding?”</p><p> </p><p>“Fifteen <em>kang</em>,” Zhou Mi supplied as Alex handed Hyukjae her notebook and pen silently, her dark eyes wide.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae forced a deep breath through his nose before flipping to a blank page and absorbing himself in the simple mathematics of conversion from Earth units to the Zhang units he’d forced himself to become familiar with. He could recognize conversation flowing around him as there was a debate about who would go down to the probe and caught a mention of spear fishing at some point, but it was nothing but background chatter. He felt Donghae holding him firmly, but also with gentleness, as he focused every single bit of his inner rage at the math problem in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>“Noona, check my math,” he finally said through his teeth as he handed Sora the notebook.</p><p> </p><p>“Walk me through your conversions,” Sora said, her eyes flashing over his notes. Hyukjae tried to keep calm as he walked through every excruciating step of converting his height in meters to matching it up with the <em>kan</em> measurement the Zhang used, as he used his sister once again as a mathematics sounding board to check for errors. Sora liked to joke that it was only that experience that got her through her own math and physics classes, even if Hyukjae knew that she was better at math than he was. He felt himself calming the slightest bit at something familiar to latch onto even as he was still devastatingly furious at himself.</p><p> </p><p>“Is this supposed to be in <em>kan</em> or <em>kang</em>?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Kan</em> is length, <em>kang</em> is velocity.”</p><p> </p><p>“So length or distance <em>and</em> time?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded. Sora looked at him before closing the notebook and handing it back to Alex.</p><p> </p><p>“Go get your guns,” she said calmly.</p><p> </p><p>“How many <em>kang</em> are these weapons?” Zhou Mi asked, wide-eyed, as Seungchul and Samuel nearly ran off the flight deck.</p><p> </p><p>“Five,” Hyukjae and Sora chorused with extremely different levels of calmness.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae jumped, startled as Donghae placed his hand at the small of his back. “We will assist them with the location,” Donghae said as he kept his hand firmly on Hyukjae’s back to propel him forward.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as they were on the lift, Donghae nearly pounced. He kept himself behind Hyukjae, one hand firmly against Hyukjae’s neck under his chin to keep his mouth shut while his other hand sat low on Hyukjae’s abdomen to hold him in place while trapping his arms as well. Hyukjae swallowed as he felt Donghae’s warm breath on his neck before he was bitten softly enough to not leave a mark, but hard enough to get his attention.</p><p> </p><p>The lift doors suddenly opened to show Samuel and Seungchul, who both blinked for a second.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, do you two need a second?”</p><p> </p><p>Donghae loosened his hold a fraction but kept Hyukjae’s arms pinned to his sides. “No, I am interrupting the useless anger mindset pattern he was becoming trapped in.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” both Samuel and Seungchul said in sync before stepping into the lift. “Rage mode, been there before,” Seungchul commiserated.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae relaxed back into Donghae as his mind slowly started to process things again. He was still incredibly angry, but Donghae had interrupted the pattern enough that he wasn’t consumed by it.</p><p> </p><p>“I need your assistance to look for the correct location to completely disable the circuitry,” Donghae said to him.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae nodded as the lift came to a halt. Donghae took the lead into the hallway, unerringly going right to the probe’s location in a small room. “What do I need to look for?” he finally asked.</p><p> </p><p>“A circular disk with multiple leads off of it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Got it,” Hyukjae said after a moment of looking.</p><p> </p><p>“Follow the lead from the fifth around to the first of three splits, and directly behind that is the main circuitry box.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” he said, nodding. “You guys see the circular disk there towards the top of the band with all of the leads coming off?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Seungchul answered.</p><p> </p><p>“Go to the ten o’clock lead and follow it until you get to three U-junctions lined up. Aim for the first one to get into the circuit board.”</p><p> </p><p>“Got it, might want to step back a little,” Samuel said as he flipped the safety with a familiar <em>click</em>, shielding some of his body with the walls on the left side of the door while Seungchul adopted the same posture on the right side.</p><p> </p><p>Hyukjae started, suddenly remembering how loud guns were. “Shit, Donghae cover your ears, this is going to be very loud.” Donghae immediately complied and Hyukjae added his hands over Donghae’s to help muffle the sound as he brought his shoulders up to try and filter some of the noise for himself.</p><p> </p><p>“Three, two…” Samuel counted.</p><p> </p><p>As one, two gunshots rang out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Hit Me Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="FicStyle">“I cannot fucking believe that <em>actually fucking worked</em>,” Hyukjae raged as he peeled off the metal panel, throwing it down on the floor hard enough to make it bounce a few times before pulling two more off, tossing them down as well. He reached into the circuitry and hooked his fingers around the power source, disconnecting it with a little more force than he probably should have used. “We’ve all risked our lives <em>so many times</em> over shit like this and didn’t even <em>think</em> that the Zhang designers were so <em>fucking smart they didn’t account for projectiles</em>?! I <em>absolutely cannot fucking believe</em> I didn’t think of that!”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Oh, he’s mad at himself?” Seungchul asked Donghae, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Donghae nod.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae snarled as he kicked the entire top off, feeling a small sense of satisfaction as it bounced against a wall. “Here,” he growled, tossing one of the inert red explosive gel-like pouches to Seungchul. “There’s fucking <em>more</em>,” he complained, tossing another three in the same direction.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He was so focused on channeling his rage into tearing the probe apart that he didn’t realize that Donghae had moved until he was being spun around, picked up, and slung easily on Donghae’s shoulder. Blinking, he raised himself up a little, wondering what Donghae was planning, but he also noticed that his hands were solidly on Donghae’s ass so he couldn’t be <em>too</em> irritated that he wasn’t still ripping the probe apart.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will get him calmed down,” Donghae said as he hauled Hyukjae out of the room like a giant bag of rice and past Samuel and Seungchul. “The explosives are inert without a mechanism to trigger them, so you may dismantle the probe without risk.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Cool, have fun,” Samuel said, waving as he moved forward.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae carried him down the hallway back towards the lift before ducking into an open, empty room. Donghae’s eyes were starting to turn blue in the small bits of light that came in through the doorway as he set Hyukjae down, pinning him against the wall before kissing him.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae’s eyes fluttered shut, his body relaxing as Donghae kissed him. The angry, infuriating feeling skipped a beat, settling into the far more pleasant throb of desire. He knew Donghae felt the shift in his mind, as his hands that had been locked in place were released. Hyukjae circled his arms around Donghae’s neck as he moaned softly, arching up and into Donghae’s body.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae pulled back, his teeth nipping at Hyukjae’s lower lip. Hyukjae shivered, his mind starting to clear out as Donghae ran his hands up and down Hyukjae’s chest, lightly brushing across his nipples. Leaning forward, Hyukjae sealed their lips together while his fingers played with Donghae’s soft, shoulder length hair. Donghae smiled into their kiss, his hands coming up to fiddle with Hyukjae’s shorter strands that still brushed his jawline.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He broke the kiss when he felt the need for air, leaning his forehead against Donghae’s. “Thanks,” he whispered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae stroked his thumbs along Hyukjae’s cheekbones. “Do not blame yourself, we have all become accustomed to doing things a certain way. Sometimes it does take an outside perspective to make us become aware of another solution.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae knew Donghae was right logically, but emotionally he’d have to work against the guilt. Heaving a sigh, he wished he could just say fuck everything and go have sex with Donghae like he’d been wanting to do for hours and hours, but they both had the responsibility to help get the ship and Alex ready for Chang Ba to poke his slimy nose everywhere. Donghae smiled, knowing what direction his thoughts had gone, and he leaned forward to give Hyukjae a soft, chaste kiss.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Soon we will have the time we wish to ourselves,” he promised. Hyukjae nodded, even though his frustration was starting to become noticeable.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah,” he agreed. “Let’s get everything stored away and get through any nonsense that Chang Ba wants to bring.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will go assist with hiding all of our personal items, you should return to the flight deck to prepare everyone’s entertainments.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“All right,” Hyukjae sighed, giving Donghae a kiss before they walked out of the room and split up, Donghae going to the lift while Hyukjae returned to the probe’s room to collect Samuel and Seungchul. Knocking on the metal outside the room, he poked his head in. “Hey, we need to get back to the flight deck,” he said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Wh – oh, right, that Chang Ba dude wants to look around,” Samuel said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You feeling a little better?” Seungchul asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “I’m not as intensely angry, but I’m still pretty pissed off that I didn’t think of simple solutions,” he replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Sometimes it just takes a different viewpoint.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae’s lips turned up as they walked back down the hallway. “That’s what Donghae said, too. Logically I know that, but emotionally I’m still feeling guilty as hell. I don’t know, maybe after I get all this stress worked out and some decent sleep in me, I might be able to get over it.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Walking back onto the flight deck, he was glad Zhou Mi was already giving Alex a brief outline of an official inspection and what to potentially expect from Chang Ba. Sora looked over, raising her eyebrows.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I haven’t seen you <em>that</em> angry since… about when we were in high school,” she said after a quick look at their parents.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged, knowing what incident Sora was going to mention. “It happens on occasion,” he told her. “Actually, it happens on a lot of occasions, but I was just so mad that I didn’t think of something <em>simple</em> like that sooner.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora’s lips quirked upwards as she ruffled his hair. “I always said you were too smart for your own good, monkey.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae was going to retort but subsided at Deokbon’s look. “Have you come up with a good cover story?” he asked his parents.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Kanghun nodded. “We worked out that we arranged to travel with our daughter to Qinyan to attend this holiday, and Song Qian said something about getting us some respectable clothes from what you already have on board.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Hm, hang on. Zhou Mi?” he called.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Hm?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Are we going to the markets?” he asked, gesturing to himself and to Zhou Mi to indicate who he was talking about.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yes, we should attend both the upper and lower markets. Alex Nelson should be seen at both to continue the entertainment of a new captain looking for business, and now that the probe is fully disabled, we should obtain the most valuable parts for barter to resupply ourselves.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Okay who are you going to be?” Hyukjae asked. No matter where they went, Zhou Mi was always the most noticeable from his height, body structure, and presence he carried within him.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will work through the upper markets with someone to portray a companion and two for protection. With some disguising, I should be able to move freely.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Who’s going to be who?” Hyukjae knew Amber would be staying on the ship and Song Qian would be doing her time giving, and if Alex was going to still pretending to be a captain, that cut down on the available people to be a possible companion. “Actually, wait, it’s only the doctor or noona that can play your companion,” he said, drumming his fingers on the projection table.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What?” Sora and Deokbon chorused.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Alex is playing captain, Amber is staying here, and Song Qian has a duty to attend as a time giver. For a society function like the upper market, Zhou Mi has to attend with a companion. That leaves you noona, or the doctor to play the part since Samuel and Seungchul can’t, they look too military or professional protection and neither Donghae or I can either pretty much for the same reasons,” he explained while ticking off options on his fingers.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What status is this companion?” Alex asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“A betrothed, a spouse, or a favored concubine,” Zhou Mi answered. “Some will hire professional companions, but that is not something that people often do.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That’s what I thought. Okay, so let’s go with absolute basics. It makes our stories a lot easier to remember and less possibility of screwing up – Lee Sora, you’re with him as his betrothed. Lee Kanghun and Kang Deokbon, you are of course her parents accompanying her, and Admiral, you can be Lee Kanghun’s old military friend who was staying with them as you recovered from an injury. That gives you all an excuse to be seen together.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I’ve already been seen as a pilot though?” Sora countered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi shook his head. “It would be encouraged that you have learned many trade skills such as piloting so that in the event of your spouse dying, you are not left without resources for yourself.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“And if say… one of the pilots I had hired wasn’t exactly on the up-and-up, it would be a good test of your skills to take over, and perhaps make you an even better match,” Alex added.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Especially if I were to portray a somewhat well-to-do businessman. Is that an acceptable story for you?” Zhou Mi asked Sora, who was nibbling on her lower lip.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What’s the market like?” Sora asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It’s more like a cocktail party than any market we’ve ever been to, noona,” Hyukjae replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“And me without anything to wear,” she returned drolly. “Well, it’s a less complicated reason than anything I could come up with. What are you going to be doing?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“After Chang Ba decides to fuck off back to the city and we figure out what we have left in either market credit or in barter, everyone can start going through the markets. Donghae and I will probably grab Alex and go through the lower markets for some basic supplies, but I’ve got a little job for you, Mom.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Deokbon raised her eyebrows, a small curve to her lips. “You want me to get food?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Please? You’re the best one for it.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Deokbon’s mouth opened and she clutched her hands dramatically to her chest. “Am I hearing actual <em>praise</em> from the same child that complained so much about how I haggle at the vegetable market?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae rolled his eyes as both Kanghun and Sora laughed. “Yes, Mom, you’re the best at getting the best price for food,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her to give her a hug. “The food vendors are usually between the two markets so we can all start to mingle in through there, and whatever you buy you can have it delivered using our beacon designation.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Let’s get through Chang Ba’s visit first,” Alex said, blowing out her breath. “We can figure out how to get through the markets then.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “I think between the twins and Song Qian, we’ve almost got all of our stuff hidden aside from the clothes we needed to pull out. Though before he arrives, you and a few others should inspect the outside of the ship just in case there’s some ground crew – you don’t have to do anything fancy, just look it over to make sure there’s no giant holes or anything attached to the exterior.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Well, we might as well do that now,” Samuel said. “Us three can do that while everyone’s getting dressed… actually wait, do we need to change?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No, your clothes are acceptable, and anyone posing as crew will not need to change until we are ready to attend the markets,” Zhou Mi explained.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Including me?” Sora asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yes. You should serve as watch during Chang Ba’s visit as we hide to continue the illusion you were on your way to Qinyan to travel to your betrothed and were accepted into a pilot station as one of the previous pilots was not able to continue.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora nodded. “Sounds simple enough.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">With their plans established and his parents already in Song Qian’s more than capable hands for clothes, Hyukjae connected a communication line to Chang Ba’s office, standing off to the side just in case they needed to provide a visual again.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah, Captain Oshrin,” Chang Ba greeted gregariously.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Alex smiled a little. “I thank you for the additional time to conduct our internal safety check, Chang Ba, and I would like to offer you our hospitality for an official inspection.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Of course, Captain. I am sure you are most anxious to arrive at the markets, so I will not delay with my arrival.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My thanks for your consideration of my future business endeavors, Chang Ba. While we await your arrival, my crew and I will continue to perform a visual inspection of our exterior.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“A reasonable precaution, Captain. I look forward to our meeting.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“As do I. <em>Andante</em> out.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae closed the communications line with a grin. “Are you ready for this?” he asked Alex.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“As I’ll ever be. I know how to transfer market credits and I’ll have Seungchul bring up some of the probe parts in case we need extra.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Noona, are you going to be okay?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I’ll be fine, monkey. Go hide.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae rolled his eyes affectionately as he and Zhou Mi quickly left the flight deck.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Amber assured me that <em>Pioneer</em> is hidden well in the hangar, so we may proceed directly hiding.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Oh good,” Hyukjae breathed. He’d been so wrapped up in his anger and working out stories that for a moment, he’d forgotten about <em>Pioneer</em>, but that was also the reason they usually kept the cargo runner in a more visible location. Splitting up, Hyukjae went to the main cargo area, climbing the rungs quickly to get into one of his favorite hiding places.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">His heart nearly jumped out of his chest as the grate covering the recess swung open, but he smiled as he made out Donghae’s features.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I knew you would choose this spot,” Donghae whispered to him as Hyukjae swung himself into the small area feet first as Donghae had done. “Is Chang Ba arriving?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Probably soon. I can’t wait until he goes away,” he whispered, lifting his leg a bit to rub sensuously against Donghae’s.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae rumbled a little, pulling him closer by the waist. “I harbor the same feeling. I wish to have you all to myself for at least a standard.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smirked. “I want to have you inside me for most of that time as well,” he teased, leaning forward to press his lips against Donghae’s. There wasn’t much room to move around, but there was just enough for Donghae to get Hyukjae fully on his back, Donghae sliding on top of him. Donghae licked at his lip before working his tongue into Hyukjae’s mouth, making Hyukjae’s eyes slowly close as he shut off his vision to concentrate on the sensation of touch.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Knowing that they needed to be silent, Hyukjae breathed through his nose and didn’t let their lips part as Donghae kissed him, their hands carefully and slowly caressing each other. Hyukjae shivered as Donghae bit on his lower lip. He hadn’t totally lost his anger, but as Donghae kissed him, more and more of that anger transformed into sexual desire. He shifted a little, just enough to get some pressure on his crotch from Donghae’s thigh, knowing that he could grind just a little, just enough to get some friction. He lost any sense and scale of time, his thoughts settling down into quiet chatter as they kissed, both of them grinding against each other in an attempt to get some sexual fulfillment while still maintaining near silence.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“And this is where you store your client’s cargo?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae’s eyes snapped open, fear and annoyance battling it out. Donghae looked very annoyed, his eyes already blue and glowing, narrowed into slits as he glared at the grate and to Chang Ba beyond it. Both of them were trying to catch their breath silently taking in long, deep breaths through their nose, but Hyukjae kept Donghae still on top of him.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Of course. This area is the most protected against… undue damage or loss,” Alex replied. “For myself and my crew’s needs, we use the smaller cargo area.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I see,” Chang Ba said. Hyukjae entertained the thought for a moment of just killing Chang Ba so he could have some time alone with Donghae, long enough to get some satisfaction from it. Donghae looked at him, smiling in amusement. “You of course have… specialized compartments for more sensitive items?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“A captain does not give away all her secrets for free, Chang Ba,” Alex replied, her voice slightly flirtatious. Hyukjae hoped that the warmer temperatures were helping her asthma so she could continue to pull this charade off.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“And yet so easy for someone to drop a word to our local peacekeeping force about a ship harboring possibly illicit material…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Almost as easy as someone mentioning a public servant attempting to get a bribe far in excess of what could ever be considered proper…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Chang Ba laughed. “I see we understand each other. There are some merchants that will be looking for a courier such as yourself that will take good care of their items and see that they get to the correct person. I will introduce you to some at the upper market.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I appreciate your understanding of networks within business,” Alex returned. “I would be very pleased to make their acquaintance and see if we can conduct business on beneficial terms.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae waited until he was absolutely certain that their footsteps had faded down the hallway before he trailed his hand up Donghae’s side. Donghae held up a finger, pointing out of the grate and down. Hyukjae rolled his eyes dramatically, his irritation spiking. Donghae didn’t seem to be in a much better mood, as Hyukjae could feel the low growls vibrating into his chest as Donghae stayed absolutely still, his jaw clenching.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do you have some business being here?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae started, frightened for a second that they’d been discovered, but he relaxed as he recognized Samuel’s rumbling voice.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I am to await the command of my master,” a soft voice replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Then I should wait with you,” Samuel said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae relaxed fractionally, both of them assured that no one was unaccounted for. Hyukjae knew it was most likely that Chang Ba’s servant had been waved to stay behind to look around without anyone being the wiser.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Wen! Where are you?” Chang Ba yelled, his voice loud enough to carry into the cargo hold.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae waited until Donghae relaxed as silence once again descended into the room.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Gone?” Hyukjae whispered into Donghae’s ear. Donghae nodded. “Are you feeling as irritated as I am?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae huffed a little, a smile stretching his lips. “I am,” he returned before leaning down and kissing Hyukjae deeply, his hips shifting. It was enough to make Hyukjae jerk his hips upwards as Donghae wetly thrust his tongue into Hyukjae’s mouth, his solid body keeping Hyukjae’s movements extremely small. Hyukjae was getting even more turned on than he had been with Donghae holding him down – it had been <em>so long</em> since he’d been able to give in to Donghae, just letting his lover control his orgasm to the point he thought he would cry with relief when he came. He was very much wanting to experience an entire list of things he’d discovered when he let Donghae take him over; he wanted Donghae to rip his clothes off, flip him over, using spit to slick two of his fingers just enough to slide them inside Hyukjae’s body and roughly fingering him until he came biting his lips in an effort to not scream, or have Donghae straddle his face, the silent demand to be sucked off apparent and it was only when Hyukjae was nearly deep throating him would Donghae drop his talented mouth down on Hyukjae’s dick, and he really wanted to be alone with Donghae in their room, Donghae buried deep inside him. Donghae’s growls were getting stronger but still silent, vibrating into Hyukjae’s chest.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">It took Hyukjae a long moment to realize there was soft tapping on the wall of the cargo hold.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Twin, Hyukjae,” Amber whispered, making them both jerk in reaction, breaking their kiss. “We are safe, and you may now come out.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae tightly clenched his eyes, his irritation boiling over into frustration and anger. “We’ll be out in a minute,” he said, keeping his voice soft, even as he wanted to scream curses until he ran out of breath. “Thanks for coming to get us.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber snorted softly. “Of course. I will inquire if Zhou Mi and Song Qian would be willing to take everyone to the market so that you and Twin may have time to have sex.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“<em>Thank you</em>,” he breathed, relief flooding him and providing a pause in the intense frustration he was experiencing.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Our thanks, Twin,” Donghae added, sounding as relieved as Hyukjae.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">They both took a couple of minutes to catch their breaths and tried to calm down enough that neither one of them was on the edge of killing the next interruption that stopped them from having sex very soon. They both crawled out of their small hiding spot and down the rungs to the floor just before Zhou Mi met them in the hallway, a knowing smile tilting his lips.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Please retire to our quarters while we go to the market so that you may have sex before either of you kill someone you would later regret killing.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">They both gave him a hug and a kiss in gratitude before they sprinted off. Donghae only diverted them long enough to grab the bag of their personal items and they dragged their sleeping pad back into their cell together. Hyukjae felt a large amount of his stress falling away as he and Donghae pulled out the few items that made their space feel like their home instead of a bare prison cell. Once that small chore had been completed, they eagerly stripped their clothes, tossing them anywhere, but leaving their shoes neatly at the edge of the sleeping pad.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shivered at the cooler temperature of the sleeping pad from where it had been stored, but he grabbed their lubricant and invitingly propped a leg up. Donghae growled as he slunk down, his eyes swiftly turning blue, but a smile on his lips.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I felt your desires as we were hiding,” he growled, settling over Hyukjae. “Do you wish for something?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae felt his heart leap as he suddenly realized he was alone with Donghae and that they had so much time to themselves. He sighed, biting his lip in thought. “I want to give into you,” he finally said. “Get a little rough with me, I want – I need – your wildness. Please just take those fantasies and make them real.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae paused, his eyes flickering down Hyukjae’s body, before he looked back up with a smirk, slipping two fingers into Hyukjae’s mouth. Hyukjae moaned, sucking on the fingers, laving them with his tongue to get them wet. Donghae’s other hand teased at a nipple, making Hyukjae shudder. Donghae pulled his fingers out of Hyukjae’s mouth, and Hyukjae really couldn’t help the gasp as Donghae pushed him over to lay on his stomach, but then pulled his hips up to where Hyukjae was on his hands and knees. Donghae moved around until he was kneeling in front of his face. Hyukjae licked his lips, flicking his eyes up. Donghae grabbed the back of his head, pulling him forward.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae groaned as he ducked his head, Donghae’s dick slipping past his lips, his eyes fluttering shut as he opened his mouth. Swirling his tongue around, he moaned as the taste of Donghae spread around and made his mouth water. He took in more and more until he gagged slightly, and he backed off only enough to pull in some air through his nose as tears pricked at his eyes. Sliding back down, he felt satisfaction as Donghae moaned and he relaxed his tongue, letting the head of Donghae’s dick slip to the back of his mouth.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The ragged moan Donghae let out encouraged him to do the same thing again, but he nearly screamed with Donghae’s dick almost in his throat when Donghae roughly pushed two fingers into Hyukjae’s body. Arching his back, he moaned as Donghae fingered him open, his entire body starting to shake. He kept his hands firmly on the sleeping pad not only for some balance but also to keep himself from reaching down and stroking himself in time with Donghae’s fingers. While he enjoyed the roughness of the first fingers, Hyukjae was grateful that Donghae grabbed the lubricant to work another finger in as he kept bobbing his head, wanting Donghae to experience the same pleasure he was getting. When Donghae curled his fingers, pressing right against Hyukjae’s prostate, Hyukjae half-moaned half-screamed as he worked his hips around, hollowing his cheeks as he pushed his head as far as he could go.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You are so beautiful like this,” Donghae growled, his words shaky and stuttering as Hyukjae kept working his mouth up and down Donghae’s dick. He wasn’t surprised when Donghae pulled his fingers out before his hair was grabbed roughly, pulling him off Donghae’s dick and up, then pulled backwards, his back arching uncomfortably until he could pull his legs forward and lay down fully. Donghae’s hands were still rough as they pushed Hyukjae’s thighs apart, exposing him fully to Donghae’s glowing eyes and he sniffed deeply. “You are ready for me,” he growled. It wasn’t a question, but Hyukjae nodded anyway.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Please,” he whispered. He needed this roughness, needed Donghae to be in control, needed to be pinned down and unable to move, and to be utterly obliterated by his orgasm at Donghae’s hands. He let his head tilt, exposing his neck as a gesture of love and trust to Donghae. “We have time,” he assured.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae maneuvered his body to where Donghae wanted him to be, and Hyukjae panted past the slight burn of Donghae’s dick stretching him wider than his fingers had, the roughness such a rare treat for him. Donghae was already at work on his nipples, licking and lightly biting the sensitive skin until Hyukjae relaxed with a shudder. Donghae’s hands firmed, keeping Hyukjae’s hands pinned down while Donghae’s arms kept his legs open. He could breathe, and it was possible for him to shift, but he wasn’t able to move at all, and that let him subsume himself into the wildness within Donghae. Donghae rocked for a few seconds, obviously checking that there wasn’t any intense pain from Hyukjae, before he pulled out and sharply thrust his hips, snarling words of primal possession against Hyukjae’s skin. Hyukjae moaned as Donghae started to really move, thrusting into him while Donghae bit at his chest, keeping him just on the verge of orgasm, the pain not giving him enough pleasure to make him come. He winced as Donghae bit down a little too hard, but the low growling he could feel had him anticipating each thrust as each one came just a bit harder than the last.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Stay inside me, stay inside me,” he begged as his body tightened in response to the slight change of angle in Donghae’s thrusts, bumping right against his prostate and making him see stars.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae thrust hard into him, his orgasmic scream ripping out of his throat, and Hyukjae thought that he’d never seen anyone look as perfect as Donghae did in the middle of ecstasy. He kept his eyes open, watching Donghae’s face as Donghae rocked himself through his orgasm, each movement made wetter and slicker by the addition of his come. Hyukjae almost whined, but it turned into a full-throated scream of satisfaction as the head of Donghae’s dick swelled, forming a knot right against Hyukjae’s prostate and stretching his body to the limit. The pleasure burst through his nerves at the constant pressure on his prostate and the stretch of his body, making it feel like his orgasm went on for hours as he jerked against Donghae’s tight grip on him, his come smearing over his stomach and up towards his chest. When he was left whimpering, his body still twitching, his head rolled to the side as Donghae kissed up his neck, submissively acknowledging Donghae’s complete domination of him without any words needing to be said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">They were both breathing hard, their bodies shivering against each other as they both tried to absorb the aftermath of such an intense orgasm. He felt Donghae’s hands release his arms and he wrapped them around Donghae’s neck, moaning happily into Donghae’s mouth as they kissed. The satisfaction almost made up for the interruptions and frustration. Donghae rubbed his hands down Hyukjae’s sides as he pulled back slightly. “Are you injured?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled and shook his head. “Just feeling so full and so amazing with you inside me,” he replied as he wrapped his legs around Donghae’s waist and shifted his back into a more comfortable position. He knew from experience that it would take almost thirty minutes for Donghae’s knot to slowly decrease in size, unless there was an adrenaline kick that would made the swelling go down faster. He breathed through the pulses and instinctive clenches of his body that made him still shake from the overly sensitive feeling, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything. Once he was breathing normally and only occasionally shaking, he stroked his hands down Donghae’s back, smiling as the glowing blue eyes stared down at him lovingly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I love you,” Donghae whispered, his voice catching on emotion.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae pulled him down for a quick kiss. “I love you too, Donghae. I love you so much.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae pulled Hyukjae onto his side as he rolled down, gently lifting Hyukjae’s leg and pulling it over his waist. “Are you comfortable?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Always,” Hyukjae answered, entirely honest. He’d always had a preference for larger men and larger toys, the stretch giving him a type of pleasure he’d never grown tired of as he walked on the thin line between pleasure and pain. The knotting was apparently an unintended side effect of Donghae’s genetic modifications, but Hyukjae found it to be absolutely perfect for him. “I love having you inside me like this and I wish we had more time to ourselves to do this more often.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae’s smile was sweet and shy. “I wish the same,” he said, his hand rubbing along Hyukjae’s side. “But I also do not wish to give up the pleasure you give to me when we do not have much time to ourselves.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grinned. “Hopefully now that we’re not being found so fast, we can have much more time to ourselves to give both of us what we like. I love being inside you, I love you being inside me and stretching me open so far that I feel like I could explode –“ He broke off on a moan as his body clenched around Donghae, intensifying the pressure against his prostate.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae smirked, his thumb gently rubbing at one of Hyukjae’s nipples before reaching down to shamelessly grope his ass. They kissed and cuddled for long minutes, and Hyukjae was only aware of the passage of time as he felt his dick starting to harden again, the pressure on his prostate registering as pleasure once more. Donghae must have felt the shift as he rolled onto his back, settling Hyukjae on top of him. The different position pushed Donghae fractionally deeper inside him and made him moan softly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae was smiling, but his eyes flickered over Hyukjae’s body with want. “Let me watch you,” he whispered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grinned. “Do you want me to jerk myself off for you or do you want to do it?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Both are attractive options,” Donghae murmured. “You should do it; I do not want to accidentally injure you.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae’s stomach did a little flip. “Hold me up?” he teased.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“As if I would let you go,” Donghae teased back, running his hands up Hyukjae’s legs to rest on his hips.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae rolled his eyes playfully, but he squired out some of the lubricant into the palm of his hand, rubbing the substance across his hands to warm it before reaching down to softly circle his hardening dick. Donghae sighed lustfully, his still-blue eyes following every move of Hyukjae’s hand. Hyukjae stroked himself, gently to begin with, but picking up his pace as he started breathing faster, his hips rocking slightly. His second orgasm always came on faster with Donghae still buried deep inside him and with just as much intensity, but it was also softer at the same time. Hyukjae moaned, pushing his hips back against Donghae’s hands and against the knot while his back arched, letting Donghae look his fill as he hit his second orgasm. He fell forward, mostly ungracefully, breathing hard against Donghae’s chest.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He was still recovering, Donghae stroking his back, as he felt the knot decrease and he wanted to whine, his body already starting to protest feeling so open and empty. As Donghae pulled out of him, Hyukjae grimaced a little as he felt the trickles of lube and come leaking out of his ass. He found it both gross and satisfying at the same time – the satisfaction borne from knowing it was his body that Donghae found pleasure in. It was actually one of the few times he didn’t complain about the air cleaning, and as they waited for their sleeping pad to get cleaned, Hyukjae leaned against Donghae.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I wish you could just stay knotted inside me while we take a nap,” he murmured drowsily. “I already miss having you in me.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae kissed him deeply as the cleaner unit opened, and they dragged their sleeping pad back into place before collapsing down in a tangle of limbs. “When we wake, I will bring you that pleasure again,” he promised as Hyukjae closed his eyes.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">/</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He woke up with a start, gasping as Donghae licked at his dick.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Mmm, you taste good,” Donghae growled, his tongue flicking into the sensitive slit. Hyukjae looked down his body to meet Donghae’s glowing blue eyes. “Let me take care of you.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae moaned and spread his legs in agreement, letting Donghae have room as he drowsily pulled his hands up to play with his own nipples. Donghae worked his mouth along Hyukjae’s dick, his fingers sneakily and wetly teasing Hyukjae’s sphincter. He was getting turned on very quickly between the image of Donghae between his legs, knowing that he was going to experience another at least two incredible orgasms, and the feeling of Donghae happily humming against his dick.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">As much as he loved giving into Donghae’s wild side, he also loved letting Donghae not only pamper him, but to also take anything he wanted and needed from Hyukjae. As Donghae sucked him to being fully erect, Hyukjae moaned as Donghae easily and happily deep throated him, slipping two fingers into his body. He was still somewhat stretched, letting Donghae quickly work three and then four fingers into him, finger fucking him in time with each bob of his mouth. Hyukjae met each thrust of fingers with a roll of his hips, his fingers gentle as he stroked Donghae’s hair and face, unable to look away from Donghae’s eyes.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He yelped a little, his body jerking as Donghae curled his fingers upward, dragging along his prostate.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Donghae,” he whined, breathing fast as Donghae swallowed around his dick and made his legs twitch. He moaned, his eyes finally rolling up as Donghae sucked his way up and pulled off his dick with a pop.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Turn over,” Donghae said, pulling his fingers out. Hyukjae flung himself off to his right, settling himself on his stomach and keeping his legs spread invitingly. He felt Donghae slink up along his body and slide right into him. Donghae lightly bit at his ear, his hands smoothing down Hyukjae’s thighs. “I will bring you pleasure like this,” he murmured as he ground his hips forward.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae whined as he pushed back against each small movement, arching his back as much as he could with Donghae on top of him. Donghae kept grinding into him until his hips stuttered, a low growl echoing into Hyukjae’s back as he came, triggering Hyukjae’s own orgasm. He fell apart, unable to register anything but pleasure as he cried out into the sleeping pad. Donghae pulled him onto his side, sniffing and growling into Hyukjae’s neck as Hyukjae tried to work himself down to the point where he felt as if he wouldn’t immediately pass out.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I don’t know if I can even move for the next <em>farn</em>,” he muttered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae chuckled against the back of his neck, looping an arm over Hyukjae’s stomach to help ground him. “We must attend the markets for supplies, this is our last bottle of lubricant.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Oh right.” He huffed. “Okay I’ll have to move if I want to have keep having sex,” he joked. Donghae laughed and tilted Hyukjae’s head around to give him a kiss. Hyukjae settled back, enjoying a quiet cuddle with Donghae while he was filled and plugged and unable to move without risking serious injury. It took him much longer to get worked up considering he’d already had three orgasms within a standard, and he wasn’t producing much semen, but as Donghae stroked him to his fourth orgasm with whispered words of love and peppered with kisses, it was definitely the most emotional release he’d had.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He whined as Donghae moved but quieted as Donghae kissed him. “I will ask Twin if it is possible to use our water shower again.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grinned goofily. “M’kay,” he muttered. He heard Donghae talking down the hall closer to Song Qian’s cell than theirs, but he couldn’t distinguish the conversation and looked up as Donghae came back. He’d become inured to the amusing sight of Donghae completely naked aside from walking around in shoes since it was a necessity when they were out in space.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Twin says that we are being charged up and she is reconnecting the power to it,” Donghae said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grinned widely, moaning as sore muscles stretched as he tried to sit up and then he grimaced as he felt wetness trail down his thighs as he shakily stood. He laughed as his legs wobbled and he fell forward into Donghae. “You might have to carry me,” he laughed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae easily lifted him up, and Hyukjae wrapped his legs around Donghae’s waist as he was carried down past Amber’s cell and into the shower, but he wasn’t set down until the water had been running for a while to warm the floor. He took time to stretch his muscles under the warm water as Donghae made sure he was steady.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Lean forward,” Donghae murmured, kissing at Hyukjae’s neck before grabbing the cleanser.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae put his hands against the wall, pushing his hips back slightly. It was both arousing and slightly uncomfortable as Donghae gently washed him, cleaning away the lubricant and come. Sighing as Donghae rubbed his lower back, he pulled himself back up and stretched his arms up before dropping them. Feeling inordinately better, he grabbed the cleanser and playfully rubbed it over Donghae’s body, appreciating the familiar strong muscles that existed underneath soft skin that held a slightly darker tone than Hyukjae’s. It always was something that Hyukjae enjoyed the sight of, be it their hands entwined or in the simple pleasure of washing each other.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Once they’d both rinsed and turned the water off, they grabbed a couple of the towels to soak up a majority of the water still dripping out of their hair and down their backs. Hyukjae yelped, then laughed as Donghae picked him up, slinging him over a shoulder to get them both back to their cell. Dressing quickly, they tossed the sleeping pad into the cleaning unit and wandered back onto the flight deck.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber turned her head slightly, smiling as she looked up from one of the smaller handheld screens where she’d been reading. “You are still walking,” she teased before yawning, blinking rapidly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Despite Donghae’s best attempts otherwise,” he quipped before giving her a kiss on her cheek. “Go to sleep, you’ve been up for a while.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">She hummed in agreement, stretching as she stood. “Song Qian is currently seeing people at the lower market and she will turn her communicator back on when she is finished, and Zhou Mi is entertaining and getting everyone familiarized with bargaining and bartering. Alex is continuing their entertainment well with Chang Ba.” She paused. “You were correct in sending Mother to barter for food.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “She can be vicious when shopping for food, but she always manages to make it seem like the vendor is getting the better deal. When is it getting delivered?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Just before dark,” Amber replied. “They should have returned by that time.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Awesome,” Hyukjae said, flopping down into one of the piloting chairs and wincing slightly at the twinge of pain in his lower back, but it quickly faded into nothingness.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Of course, Twin,” Donghae replied, playfully bumping at Hyukjae’s legs. Hyukjae parted them to let Donghae sit down and wrapped them tightly around Donghae’s waist as they both relaxed, listening to the sounds of a busy market through the open communicators that Zhou Mi and Alex had open.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae was half-listening to Chang Ba chatting at Alex when he felt Donghae turn slightly. “Hm?” he asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Doctor Zoe is approaching,” he muttered back, clearly confused, but he leaned forward and turned off the ship-side mic.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zoe walked onto the flight deck within thirty seconds, her face red, hair plastered down from sweat, and breathing hard.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Did you run all the way back?” Hyukjae asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zoe nodded. “It’s not too far,” she replied, dropping down into the other pilot chair, fanning her hand to try and cool down. “It’s also not as hard as it would be back home since the gravity is lower.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae cocked his head. “You are upset about something?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zoe gaped at him for a second before heaving a sigh. She looked at Hyukjae, arching an eyebrow. “You didn’t mention that time givers were prostitutes.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae rolled his eyes. “Well they are… but they aren’t.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zoe blinked a couple of times, taking a couple of deep breaths as she visibly tried to control her temper. “Explain the logic to me, please,” she finally said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae tilted his head up, looking curiously at Hyukjae. He didn’t need to say anything for Hyukjae to understand that Donghae was extremely confused.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What Song Qian does as part of her time giver skills is actually illegal in a lot of places on Earth for… a lot of very old and archaic reasons,” he explained to Donghae, who nodded. “Okay the logic is – who else knows the most about anatomy since there’s nothing like a formal medical school?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zoe opened her mouth, but paused, shutting it again, furrowing her eyebrows.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Also, how many times have you had issues with patients not giving you all of the information you need because they were too embarrassed to tell you about anything sexual?” Hyukjae continued.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zoe rolled her eyes, leaning back in the chair. “Too many,” she muttered, folding her arms across her chest. “Okay that does have some logic behind it. I may not totally agree with it, but I see the logic.” She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’m going to take a shower and try to get my mind around this. Actually, wait. One more thing. In the short time I was there, I saw a <em>lot</em> of cash being thrown around. Does she keep it?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Both Donghae and Hyukjae shook their heads in sync. “She is obligated to sponsor trainees and sanctuary-seekers, just as she herself was sponsored before,” Donghae explained. “Most of her earnings go back to the House of Song. She is allowed to keep a small amount for living, but everything else is sent back.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zoe’s eyes widened. “Damn. Are there time givers that work with kids only?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You’d have to ask her,” Hyukjae replied. “I’m sure some do pediatrics only, but I’ve only ever seen ones that work with adults.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Fair enough,” Zoe said as she stood. “All right, shower time for me.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Might want to grab a short nap before lunch,” Hyukjae pointed out. “If you’re going back to the markets, you’re going to be up for a while.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zoe waved a hand in acknowledgement as she left. Donghae looked up at Hyukjae. “Your doctors are not time givers?” he asked curiously.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head. “Like I said, a lot of what Song Qian does is actually illegal in many places. She," he said with a gesture towards the entrance of the flight deck where Zoe had just disappeared from, "went to a specialized school to learn how to heal, but they don’t teach any entertainment arts like the Houses do.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae snorted. “That is very odd to me, but now your reactions at the beginning of our association make sense. Doctor Zoe seemed to be more upset because she holds some friendly affection for Song Qian,” he continued.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, that was probably a little bit of a shock to her. I didn’t even remember to tell anyone what time givers actually do.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae shrugged and reached forward to reopen their microphone. “There are many differences between what your people are accustomed to and what does exist elsewhere. You are now accustomed to our lives.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded, smiling as Donghae grabbed one of his hands and threaded their fingers together as they relaxed into each other, only breaking their silence to give occasional advice to Alex in dealing with Chang Ba’s questions.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">When the console beeped, Donghae leaned forward, switching off their side of the communications to open up the message.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Amber?” Song Qian whispered, sounding stressed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Donghae.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah, good I was hoping she would get some rest. I cannot find Doctor Zoe anywhere, and no one at the lower markets can remember seeing her.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“She returned to the ship safely,” Donghae soothed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Song Qian sighed. “Oh good. She left when I saw some of my first clients, but I am relieved that she is well.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Are you almost done with your clients for the morning?” Hyukjae asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yes. I have two more and then I will return to the ship for a meal and more sleep than I have had.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“All right see you then,” Hyukjae replied before Donghae switched off the direct messaging and reopened the communicators, finding Sora in the middle of heavy bargaining. Hyukjae wondered what she’d brought with her that was sparking so many offers. Zhou Mi didn’t sound overly concerned about the offers, but he did snap at a couple of vendors to stop crowding her, and Hyukjae relaxed as Sora finally traded away whatever she had, telling the vendor their beacon name to get her purchases delivered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae laughed quietly when Donghae’s stomach growled, and he lovingly patted it. “Soon. Actually, could you ask Zhou Mi to get Mom to bring back some food for us?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae snorted a soft laugh, stealing a quick kiss from Hyukjae’s lips before turning back to the console and doing exactly that, and telling Alex at the same time to start working her way back to the ship. By the time everyone returned, thankfully in one piece and not being chased, Hyukjae was definitely starting to feel a little cranky from hunger.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Amber?” he called softly as he walked down the hallway to their cells. Poking his head into Amber’s cell, he frowned as he took in her slightly disheveled appearance. The wincing as she sat up made him pause. “Nightmare?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">She grunted softly. “It was not fully progressed, thankfully. Has everyone returned?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He stuck out his hands, helping her stand up. “Yep, everyone’s back with food. How’s the pain?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Annoying, but tolerable,” she finally said, shifting slightly. “Let us go eat. It has been some time since we last had a meal.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae thought back, grimacing as he walked with Amber back to the lift. “Shit, it’s been almost a <em>farn</em> since we had anything.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber sighed, using her fingers to smooth down her hair. “That does also explain why I was having a nightmare.” She looked over at him, smiling softly as the lift whisked them up through the ship. “Twin and I were separated during the genetic treatments and kept in isolation. We were also not fed at least two days before so that it would reduce the risk of vomiting,” she explained, already picking up his curiosity.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae closed his eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that his anger was <em>for</em> her and Donghae and not at them. “Remind me to put that on the list of issues that I would be more than happy to discuss with Zhou Li.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">She giggled, leaning into him. He smiled; glad he could at least lighten her mood a little as the doors to the lift opened.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Noona, what was everyone so interested in?” Hyukjae asked as he walked into the crew area, spotting Sora gathering her green and pink dress around her legs while managing to not shift the white ribbon that circled her chest, tying in the center.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My water bottle,” she replied, her red-tinted lips turning up as she put her face mask down next to her on the table.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae blinked, waiting for the <em>haha just kidding</em>. “Your… water bottle?” he asked, totally disbelieving.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">She shrugged, her hairpins clinking slightly with the movement. “I mean, yeah it was one of those hydroflask things, but I didn’t think it would be <em>that</em> important.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It does begin to appear many of your common place items are of great value,” Song Qian said, once again dressed in the standard clothes they wore on the ship and her hair braided.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae kept an eye on Amber as she sat down next to him, only wincing slightly. He knew Song Qian had noticed the wince as well, but she must have noticed something and didn’t mention it. He got back up to help Zhou Mi lift the center of the table slightly to let it spin and rearranged the few plates and baskets of food to make sure everything was up and available to everyone.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Is this kind of like dim sum?” the admiral asked, still in the plain black ship clothes he’d opted for, his own face mask perched on his shoulder.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Alex groaned softly. “Now I want dim sum,” she said as she snagged something that looked like a steamed bun – aside from it being bright green – as it passed by.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“So, what did you get for your water bottle?” Hyukjae finally asked as he swallowed some meat and vegetable combo.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Fabric for clothes, mostly, but the guy I finally traded it to threw in some hairpins and some other supplies I figured you all could use. And before you ask what kind of fabric, I don’t know what it’s called, but some of it feels like the stuff you’re wearing, some of this dress material, and something that feels like silk. I didn’t know you guys made your own clothes.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged, already mentally attaching names to what Sora had just rattled off. “There’s not mass-produced clothes out here like there is on Earth. Most everything everyone wears the stuff they make themselves, especially the more formal clothes.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“How do you make them?” Deokbon asked, her dress crinkling as she grabbed some cold vegetables that looked like soybeans.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“A very upgraded version of a sewing machine,” Hyukjae replied. “It’s down in one of the recently repaired areas. We haven’t made some clothes in a long time, because it was such a hassle to get suited up just to make anything that we needed.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I was wondering about that,” Alex piped up. “It looked like only bolts of fabric being sold instead of clothes. Oh, there you are,” she said as Zoe walked in, disheveled and yawning.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Mm, snoozed my alarm a few times. I didn’t realize how tired I was… well, am.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It is a good idea to sleep for two standards before we return to the markets,” Song Qian replied. “We will need to be well-rested for the night markets.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Deokbon shook her head. “I’m staying here and resting my ankle.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae frowned. “What’s wrong with it?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Deokbon looked startled at his question, but quickly relaxed. “I broke it a few years ago. It’s healed but walking too much makes it swell and that was a <em>lot</em> of walking we did.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded. “The markets fill the entire city, both the upper and lower sections,” he told her.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, I think I’m going to pass on the night market tonight too,” the admiral said, wincing. “I didn’t realize we walked the full length of a city.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The markets already looked packed during the day, is it the same vendors?” Seungchul asked as he finally stopped eating.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Some, yes. Most vendors are only able to pay the fees for one half of the day, so there will be many new ones to take their place for the other half,” Song Qian explained.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Which market are you going to?” Zoe asked. “Back to the lower market?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Song Qian shook her head. “I have planned to split my time between the two markets. I will attend the upper market at night but spend the day at the lower market. Already all of my time is spoken for at the lower markets. I would not be shocked if that occurs at the upper market as well. I will have to bring up the neglect of this area when I contact my House.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do you think it’s because of the Mandate thing?” Samuel asked, also apparently done eating.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Possibly,” she mused. “But troubled times do not relieve us of our duty to care for people across the entire Empire. We are allowed to concern ourselves with saving our own life, but we have a higher obligation to help and there are very few that will not cease hostilities as we work in order to maintain our safety.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will assist with covering the marking before we leave,” Zhou Mi said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My thanks,” Song Qian said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What marking?” Seungchul asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The bar tattoo,” Hyukjae explained. “It’s to mark us as criminals, which bars us from doing just about anything other than being on a ship doing cargo runs or hiring ourselves as bodyguards. Most of the time, no one gives a shit if their time giver has it because they can come from all walks of life, but the upper market is a little different, so it’s better to just cover it up so no one tries to find out if she still has active briefs.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My association with Zhou Mi is likewise known from the time we were detained, and the information of our location would be forwarded to Zhou Li,” Song Qian added.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, probably a good idea to cover it up,” Samuel muttered. “So, do we have to deal with Chang Ba again?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Not unless you want to,” Hyukjae said, leaning back in his chair. “It sounds like you met most of the daytime vendors at the upper market, and he’s not going to want a lucrative contact to be shared with anyone else, especially not the minor controllers who keep watch through the night.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Good,” Alex and Samuel chorused. “Are some of the nighttime vendors black marketeers?” Alex followed up.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Some will have private goods for sale, but you will have to be invited to view them,” Donghae explained. “Hyukjae and I will be attending with you all at the upper market, as it is common to hire former criminals as protection.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Alex raised her eyebrows, looking surprised. “The night market is starting to sound like a free-for-all rather than a market.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Free… for all?” Donghae asked curiously, and Hyukjae guessed that the idiom had been translated literally.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Everyone fighting for themselves with no cooperative effort, kind of like a large brawl,” Hyukjae said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah. No, it is more circumspect, but there is a higher risk of thievery of small items.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Is it normal for time givers to hire protection too?” Zoe asked Song Qian.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Not normal, but also not unheard of at such a large market.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Okay, I’ll go with you as protection and I can at least visually triage anyone that needs it and I’ll be there in case of emergency.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Song Qian inclined her head.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Is there anything I need to look for?” Alex asked, pulling out her notebook.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“If there are some available, we need some water filters to have spare ones, and there are two specialized parts for the engines that I will show you after our sleep. Some of the probe parts can be used as barter for them. Food cubes would be helpful, too,” Song Qian quickly replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Got it.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will attend with you as your protection,” Donghae said. “Hyukjae will go with Zhou Mi and Noona as theirs.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Is it a good idea to keep them together? They don’t look like twins, but they definitely look like siblings, especially around the eyes,” Seungchul said, waving a hand between Hyukjae and Sora. “And with everyone wearing the face masks, it makes it more noticeable.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We can use it as an advantage point if there are disaffected groups that are preparing for the Mandate to change,” Zhou Mi said. “It will not affect our previous statements, merely enhance them.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Okay, I’m going to go to bed,” Kanghun said, rising from his chair.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Me too,” Deokbon added.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked and suddenly noticed that most of the food was gone. “Yeah, it’s time for some sleep for everyone, I think.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will assist with cleaning and storage so that Twin may quickly go back to sleep,” Donghae said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My thanks,” Amber said quietly, already looking as if she was half asleep.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will lock the ship so that everyone may sleep without concern,” Song Qian said, also rising.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora grabbed one last green steamed bun before she started to gather up plates as she chewed. With at least five people cleaning up, the table was back to its former state within a few minutes and utensils and small bowls were being cleaned.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He wasn’t surprised to see Amber waiting for them as they walked into the prison level.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Group sleep?” she murmured.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Absolutely,” Hyukjae replied, giving her a quick kiss. “I don’t want you to have another nightmare.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We also sleep much better when we are together and reassured of the presence of each other,” Zhou Mi added, looping an arm around Amber’s waist.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Both of the twins hummed in agreement. As they stripped off enough of their clothes in Donghae and Hyukjae’s cell to be comfortable in the warmer air of Qinyan, Song Qian joined them, her shoulders relaxing.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah good, I was going to strongly suggest this,” she said as she pulled her pants off, just as everyone else had, leaving only a small pair of shorts everyone wore on.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You noticed?” Amber yawned as she sank down onto the sleeping pad.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Of course. Was it a nightmare?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">She hummed. “Isolation and hunger precipitated it. The aching is more annoying than anything else.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“And hopefully sleep will cure it,” Zhou Mi added as he carried his sleeping pad into the cell and setting it next to the one that was already filling up with bodies. They’d discovered that having just a little bit of room to make sure no one rolled off was a good thing when they were all sleeping together.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae laid down, not surprised when Amber clutched his hand and Donghae curled up behind him. Sleep finally came easily to him, and he dropped off almost as soon as his head was pillowed on his arm.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Dangerous</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="FicStyle">“I still can’t believe that I’m sitting on a spaceship on an alien world,” Deokbon muttered, shaking her head. “Do you think we can see our sun from here?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head, Donghae between his legs, their hands entwined on Donghae’s stomach as they waited for Qinyan’s sun to fully set below the horizon. “I don’t think from this spot, maybe at a different latitude we might be able to. That huge nebula that stays up for most of the night is the Carina Nebula and Earth is somewhere behind it.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Deokbon hummed, sounding a little disappointed, looking back up at the stars that were set in unfamiliar patterns.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Isn’t that huge star in it going to explode at some point?” Samuel asked. “Or has it already exploded?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked up and over at Samuel. He wondered if he wanted to mention that Eta Carinae was a binary system, but decided against it since it would just be superfluous showing off. “You know Eta Carinae?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Samuel nodded. “We can see the nebula in the summer just after sunset before it sets behind Mauna Loa. I remember one of the volunteers up at the VIS mentioning that it was her favorite system because it was going to go out in a giant bang.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “Huh, that’s cool. Well, as far as I know, Eta Carinae is still chugging along, but I’m not going anywhere near it to check.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Which system is this?” Zhou Mi asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Moulhu.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi winced. “Yes, it is very advisable to stay extremely far from there. Even the most advanced radiation shields cannot cope with that system for even half a standard.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yikes,” Alex muttered. “That’s genuinely kind of terrifying even with only the barest knowledge of your tech. Out of curiosity, if we could see our sun from here, what would it look like?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Probably just a yellowish dot to our eyes even with a decent sized telescope. But it could also be hidden behind or beside a few other stars in our local neighborhood like Sirius which would either make a visual binary or just completely occlude it.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Nerd,” Sora teased, her hands idly playing with the hem of her formal outer dress. Even in Qinyan’s redder sun, Hyukjae could clearly see the red detailing standing out as she moved the fabric between her fingers, a few hairpins clinking in the soft breeze.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I do wonder if that is a reason as to why your world has been spared so far,” Zhou Mi said, overriding any retort Hyukjae would have made.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Possibly. Doesn’t the Emperor have thousands of astronomers to look for new worlds, especially out towards the Wilds?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yes, but it is unknown if they actually perform their job functions for the Emperor or not. They could simply be looking for worlds similar to what already exists within the Empire and not expanding their searches, though they know that there are worlds that orbit stars not normally considered to be habitable.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sighed. “That’s probably good for Earth, but I’d love to get my hands on that data too. I want to see if they’ve actually discovered Sol but considered it <em>mostly harmless</em>,” he said with an amused roll of his eyes.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Everyone from Earth snorted or laughed loudly as they recognized the reference.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae looked up curiously. “One of your entertainment references?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded as various references to <em>Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy</em> were tossed back and forth. “It was one of my favorite reading entertainments when I was on Earth.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah! The first lanterns are being released,” Song Qian said, sitting up a bit straighter.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae had to wait another minute or two before he could see the faint flickers rising up from the covered lanterns.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do you know what the significance of this festival is?” Alex finally ventured as the first few lanterns began to explode into some form of fireworks.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It is a relic of a time long past, far before the Zhang Empire came to this world. It was a time to celebrate the end of the harvesting season when the people could rest after their labors, celebrate the turning of a solar year, and families gather to acknowledge those that have died and celebrate new births with gifts,” Song Qian explained. “After the Zhang came, it still has many of the same meanings, and some families will still put the remains of their dead into the lanterns to assist them with moving along with their ancestors. The festival has become more widely known through this section of the Empire as it falls near the Emperor’s celebrated birth date every cycle.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Sounds like a mix of Christmas, Chuseok, and New Year’s all rolled into one,” Kanghun mused.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I was thinking the same thing,” Seungchul agreed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What’s Chuseok again?” the admiral asked Alex.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Think Thanksgiving but stretched out over a few days, usually September or October,” she replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Got it.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“How many festivals does Earth have?” Amber wondered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“One for every day of the solar cycle, probably,” Hyukjae said. “It’s just dependent on what nation you’re in which official festival times there are.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber shook her head, growling softly. “I regret asking,” she drolly replied, making Hyukjae laugh. They all watched the display of the lanterns gently rising into the air before most of them exploded. As full dark fell, the smaller lanterns stopped launching to let a large lantern that was almost the size of a city block, covered in reddish paper to rise up, being assisted by thrusters below it. As the lantern reached its pre-programmed height, it paused. Hyukjae could hear the faint sound of large bells being rung before the lantern exploded in a shower of sparks, lighting up the entire city.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Wow,” several people breathed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Now that was impressive,” Admiral Thorn commented. “Every fireworks show is going to absolutely pale in comparison from now on.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded silently, still a little in awe himself. He was finally relaxing into relief as his mind caught up to the fact that everyone was alive, their ship was fully powered and stocked – mostly thanks to his mother and Alex, but Sora had definitely contributed to a decent stockpile of new fabrics – and fully repaired. He also knew that whoever was chasing them was only going to find their last signal somewhere around Qinyan since they had dealt with the probe so quickly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Is there anything specific we still need to look for?” Sora asked as Zhou Mi courteously helped her stand before helping Song Qian do the same.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No, I think we finally got everything,” Hyukjae replied as he got his feet under him. “Tonight, we can just browse around for deals for the things the vendors don’t want to pack up that we can use.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Cool, can we go now? I’m getting hungry,” Samuel chimed in, pulling the face mask out of his pocket and perching it on the shoulder of his short-sleeved shirt. He’d managed to look like both protection and a trusted member of Alex’s fictional crew the entire time they’d been at the markets, and Hyukjae had to admit that he was definitely impressed by the man’s ability to blend in.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Go have fun kids,” the admiral joked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Everyone was in a good mood as they loaded up in the cargo runner, a few miscellaneous probe parts in a corner that they could use for bartering if they found something nice, and a decent amount of market credits that everyone had pooled from their various trades. Hyukjae could hear Sora and Song Qian chatting as he and Donghae made the short trip into the city, parking the cargo runner amongst others. Hyukjae pulled on his face mask as the runner’s ramp lowered and checked that the longer strands of his hair were still pulled up into a short ponytail.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Samuel led the way to the food terraces, where it was a thankfully short wait until the food was delivered. While Zhou Mi, Sora, and Alex had their dishes spread out across the low table that was set on a blanket, Hyukjae, Donghae, Samuel, and Seungchul were given portions in metal bowls to allow them to face outward and keep watch. Hyukjae pulled his mask down just enough to be held in place by his chin and raised his bowl to his mouth. He knew it was unlikely that anyone would actually be able to recognize him, but it was still possible. Zhou Mi was also being cautious as his face would be far more widely known, but since they hadn’t been accosted for all three full days of the markets, he supposed the slight alteration of shading around Zhou Mi’s cheekbones and eyes, as well as the fake scar that ran down his forehead on the left side had kept any suspicion off them.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He smiled behind his mask as Sora leaned against his back, hearing her dress fabric rustle.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Feeling okay noona?” he quietly asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">She hummed. “Just feeling a little weird that I’m playing at someone who is far richer than what I actually am. But also wondering what possessed me to pick this dress,” she finished ruefully.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae snorted quietly. The fabric of her dress was luxurious, but it was also one of Song Qian’s slightly more provocative dresses, seemingly only held closed by the wide fabric band that circled her waist while the top of the dress was barely clinging to Sora’s shoulders. A choker necklace that fanned out into multiple gems across her chest made the look more respectable, but it was definitely more daring than anything he’d ever seen his sister wear.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Well, I guess you do look nice in it,” he teased.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Maybe a little too nice, I’ve already spotted at least three guys staring at me, and the guy five places across from us is giving me a seriously creepy look.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah I saw him,” Seungchul replied. “The one in the green robes, Sam.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Samuel grunted, indicating he found them. Hyukjae dearly wished that he could turn around and spot the creep himself, but he had to trust everyone else to do their jobs and keep his sister protected.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi made a disgusted noise. “I believe he is attempting to work out if you are a betrothed or a favored concubine. It is debatable if he approaches you himself or if he attempts to send a messenger.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae felt Sora sigh. “Well, that’s a universal constant, I guess. I thought dodging pushy coworkers was bad enough.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do you want me to kill them?” he immediately asked, bristling that he wouldn’t be able to protect his sister once she’d returned to Earth.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That’s kind of disturbing that you just asked that, because you most likely <em>would</em> kill them,” Sora grumbled. “I can handle it; I’ve been doing it for years now.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Seungchul snorted loud enough for Hyukjae to hear. “When we get back, I will be happy to put the fear of God into them without deadly force for you, considering that your brother is technically <em>dead and cannot be seen</em>.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Small problem,” Hyukjae mumbled. He saw Donghae’s shoulders shaking with laughter and smiled, even if he was still feeling overprotective and a little disgruntled.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I might take you up on that offer,” Sora said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hmphed but jerked when Sora playfully hit a ticklish spot near his hip with her fingers.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Relax, monkey. It’s something I have to deal with all the time.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You shouldn’t have to,” Hyukjae shot back.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No, we shouldn’t, but it is a societal product that some of us have to deal with,” Alex chimed in. “Until there’s a rather massive shift out of strictly patriarchal thinking, it’s just going to continue. Given what’s already been said about the Empire, I’m not surprised it happens out here too.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We don’t have to like it, though,” Samuel grumbled. “If I could clone my cousin Kalani and let her loose on some of those bums I would.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Alex snickered. “Little bit of a firecracker?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Try more like six sticks of dynamite in a five-three lesbian,” Samuel laughed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I want to meet her,” Alex immediately replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Me too,” Sora added. “Okay let’s go shopping. If he’s going to try and hit on me, might as well get it over with so I can enjoy the rest of the market.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“As we leave, Alex, let us walk a path that brings us closer to him, I might be able to sense where his intentions truly lie,” Donghae said, glancing around.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Can you pick up anything from here?” Sora asked, and Hyukjae knew that she was vaguely concerned.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Too many people,” Donghae replied. “I would be bombarded by far too much to keep that ability unknown.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Well, don’t put yourself in too much danger to find out,” she chided.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae could see Donghae’s smile lifting his cheeks under his mask. “I will be well, Noona. We have faced far more dangerous people.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Just be careful, okay?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will practice caution,” Donghae assured.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“All I can ask. Let’s get out of here. I want to do some shopping.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae waited until he felt Sora move before he rolled up onto his feet, taking a second to scan the area before he looked for a guy in green robes five places across from them. He narrowed his eyes a little as he spotted the creep and committed the face to memory so he could watch out for him. Waiting a beat, he followed next to Sora while Seungchul followed next to Zhou Mi and they split off from Alex, Donghae, and Samuel as they entered the upper market. Everyone that had communicators had them turned on by the time they walked through the gates into the upper market.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Which way do you want to go, noona?” Hyukjae asked quietly, scanning the various rows of traders and merchants.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora hummed. “I guess along the city walls, I’ve mostly been in the center market area,” she said, tilting her head a little.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We will follow along behind you,” Zhou Mi replied, his face mask only muffling his voice a little.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae spent most of his time keeping an eye on his sister and their surroundings as Sora sedately walked along the rows of vendors. Her eyes flickered over the various wares displayed without stopping, but he did manage to make her pause a few times at random vendors for some high-quality fabric Hyukjae knew that they could use to make some fancier outfits.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What are these for?” Sora whispered to him.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Fancier outfits in case we need some more formal type clothes,” he whispered back. Sora hummed, exchanging some market credits for the fabric and bowing her head lightly at the vendor as they registered their beacon name to have the fabric delivered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Oooh,” Sora exclaimed at some point more than halfway along the city walls towards the center where the walls looked out over a sheer cliff face down to a river. “Hey, do those jewels look different to you too?” she asked, pointing at a nearby vendor. Hyukjae noted that while some people briefly stopped by, no one seemed to be purchasing anything and the vendor himself looked merely resigned as if it was a normal occurrence. Looking at the wares of mostly hairpins under brighter lights, his eyebrows shot up.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah they’re different, I don’t think I’ve seen anything that really looks purple here,” he agreed. “Want to go look?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Might as well see what they are.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My Lady, you honor me with your presence,” the vendor said, standing. Hyukjae noticed that under the politeness, the vendor was already expecting them to leave. A small noise caught his attention, his eyes flickering into the darker interior of the tent.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Shit,” Hyukjae breathed, his hand wanting desperately to move down towards his weapon – which he didn’t have, as they were banned from the markets. All he had on him was a glow knife and whatever he could pick up. His eyes flickered around, scanning for even more soldiers to come spilling out from anywhere. He forced himself to not move, not drag Sora away, not do anything that would catch the attention of the soldiers in the tent. In whatever feeble light shone in, he could already recognize the distinctive black triangles with an eight-pointed red star in the middle. Eight points for each system that Li Chen governed. Darting his eyes back to Sora, he caught her curious look, but he shook his head slightly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Soldiers here,” he whispered into his communicator.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ah, there you are,” Zhou Mi called out to Sora, making both her and Hyukjae turn a little.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“These are very pretty,” Sora complimented, running a finger across a hairpin that had a set of three purple jewels hanging off the end. If they were on Earth, Hyukjae would have guessed they were amethyst.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My Lady has excellent taste,” the vendor replied. “Your eyes have caught the genuine jewels that I carry in my wares.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“<em>Picat</em> is rare to find these days,” Zhou Mi said, running a finger over the green and blue jewels shot through with a lighter purple. “Most places have been mined thoroughly.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“They have indeed. I have been fortunate to have located a small vein of <em>picat</em> through my travels and business encounters. While they are obviously not as high quality as would be found in the Imperial jewels, these are still wonderful examples of <em>picat</em>’s inherent beauty.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae noted the name of the gemstone, reminding himself to look up the chemical compound of it when they got back to the ship.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“They would be a lovely addition to my Lady’s wardrobe, as I can tell that she has most excellent taste in apparel. I do not ask for much beyond the barest profit for the jewels as I will assure you that they are genuine <em>picat</em> and I welcome anyone to test their authenticity.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae tilted his head slightly as Seungchul touched his arm.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Soldiers?” he murmured, only just loud enough for Hyukjae to hear under the conversation between Zhou Mi, Sora, and the vendor.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“In the tent,” Hyukjae replied. “Don’t know what they’re doing here, but they’re from Li Chen’s forces.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“How do you know?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Black triangle with an eight-pointed red star patch.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That is Li Chen’s signature,” Amber whispered through the communicator. “There have not been any communications that I have detected but maintain caution until it is discovered what they are doing here.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“How much leeway do they have with the law?” Seungchul asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“More than we do. Unless they look like they’re going to attack, we can only watch out.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Seungchul sighed but dropped his hand and slowly made his way back to Zhou Mi’s other side, obviously keeping watch for anything out of the ordinary. Hyukjae himself turned slightly, just enough to give him a wider field of vision.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You are asking far too much for something that could be obtained from any other vendor here,” Zhou Mi said, and Hyukjae snuck a glance over.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No other vendor, not even those during the daytime have had <em>genuine picat</em> available in their wares.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi shrugged a shoulder. “Yet I could obtain <em>picat</em> elsewhere. Though it could be slightly less quality, it is doubtful that they would ask so much for so little.” Hyukjae saw Zhou Mi look pointedly in the tent. “Aside from those drunken <em>zougou</em> in your tent, I have noticed that you have not many patrons.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The vendor stilled, a sneer pulling one cheek up as he glanced back. Hyukjae’s right hand started to drift down to where he had the glow knife stashed, even though the soldiers continued on with their gambling game. “There are few options when hospitality is enforced instead of freely given,” he said, his tone bitter. “My price stands. While it would be a loss to myself if you do not wish to do business, I will not beg or sell things at too high of loss simply because I wish to appear prosperous during troubled times.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi took a moment before tilting his head slightly. “There are indeed few options for those at the end of Li Chen’s suspicion, something that I can understand and sympathize with,” he said quietly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The vendor huffed a little, his posture relaxing a fraction. “While I do not wish it upon others, it is somewhat comforting to know that others have not been offered the choice of hospitality.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Not only hospitality, but also justice,” Zhou Mi replied, shooting a glance at Hyukjae.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Unsurprising in these troubled times, the Mandate seems to be moving quickly. He is your kin?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“My betrothed’s,” Zhou Mi corrected, gesturing at Sora. “The children of a Hou. Even her father’s connections could not save her family from near ruin at the hands of baseless rumors.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The vendor glanced at Hyukjae. The way he was standing, the bar tattoo was visible peeking out from under his sleeveless shirt and it would be unmistakable for anything else. “My sympathies for your family Lady…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Sora,” she supplied. “My brother and I have been fortunate that my betrothed was able to accept both of us, but we are aware that many others are not.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The vendor nodded. “It is good that you know of that, Lady Sora. Many others choose not to see the plights of others, but I am relieved that it appears some of your station are aware. Might I inquire as to the nature of your business sir? There could be other opportunities for one such as myself to help others who know of this pain.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I am only a broker for others; however my betrothed has seen fit to potentially expand my business by connecting me with a like-minded cargo captain to where we would be able to mutually benefit from each other, even if the captain is new and still growing their business.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Moving goods between worlds does necessitate a trustworthy cargo captain. Perhaps the prices are slightly higher than they should be given these unsettled times.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded his head slightly towards the inside of the tent. “Perhaps. Enforced hospitality does incur its own price as well. I am certain we will be able to come to a mutually satisfying trade for the ones my betrothed is fond of.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will cut the price down to yours if you can arrange a short meeting with the captain you speak highly of. I am always pleased to offer my hospitality to those who others consider trustworthy with their goods along with business contacts.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae noted the quick tap of two fingers against the vendor’s leg, well out of sight of the soldiers.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded. “A moment while I confirm the captain’s availability. Betrothed, please do find some jewels that are to your satisfaction while I contact the Captain.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora nodded her head. Hyukjae stepped closer to his sister once Zhou Mi had stepped away, his hand covering a communicator. “This one?” he asked quietly, pointing at the green/blue <em>picat</em>.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I like that one the most, these two as well,” Sora agreed, pointing at another hairpin with such dark purple jewels that they nearly appeared black. But surprisingly to Hyukjae, there was a string of yellow gems with a slightly greenish-white tint. He personally thought that the color combination was disgusting.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Really?” he asked, incredulous, his eyebrows rising with near disgust.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What? I like it,” she said as Hyukjae rolled his eyes.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The vendor snorted softly, his cheeks pulling up behind his mask. “I will gather these for you, Lady Sora. It is a credit to your parents for raising you closely together.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora looked up, smiling a little. “Do you have children yourself?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The vendor nodded. “Three. My eldest is just now nearing a legal age and my only hope is that I have raised him as well as your parents have raised you so that no matter the circumstance, he will always look after his siblings.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi returned within a minute, tapping his fingers across the fabric sash that held his overcoat closed. The vendor repeated the movement, nearly hidden as he gathered the three hairpins Sora had pointed out. Hyukjae knew what it meant, but he could only shoot Sora a look that meant he’d explain it later when she looked at him curiously.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Sadly, the captain has indicated that they are unavailable at this time, but they thank you deeply for your offer and hope that your business proceeds well,” Zhou Mi said, his voice just loud enough to carry back into the tent.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The vendor nodded his head, not looking dejected in the slightest. “I do understand,” he replied, tapping three fingers against his lips and glancing upwards. “I have made an offer in good faith and it will be all I ask.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded his head. “At your discretion, of course. My betrothed and I thank you deeply for conducting business well and we will remember you fondly.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“As I shall remember you. May your business prosper and flourish,” the vendor said, presenting Sora with a small cloth bag that held the hairpins.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Our hope for yours as well.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora thankfully waited until they were well away from the vendor before she poked Hyukjae in the side. “Spill,” she demanded quietly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Basically that entire exchange was a lie, that’s what the belt tap was – to say the opposite since the soldiers were listening to see if he would actually have a business contact meeting,” Hyukjae explained, not surprised that Seungchul was also listening to him. “He thinks that by third moonrise, they’ll be gone since they’ve done their job and scared off most of the business deals.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What was that about hospitality?” Seungchul asked quietly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It is a ruse Li Chen is fond of to investigate suspected rebellious aspects as a means to either entrap them or to crush any business dealings that would help those suspected,” Zhou Mi said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I’m starting to understand why you hate him so much,” Sora muttered to Hyukjae.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah he seems like a giant pain in the ass,” Seungchul agreed.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“He’s all of that and more,” Hyukjae replied. “Amber? Anything yet?” he whispered into his communicator.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No, there is nothing out of normal communications.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“They are a small group,” Donghae added via the communicator. “There have been no other forces from Li Chen either seen or detected.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will defer to you, Twin,” Amber said. “I will keep watch. There is less than one third of a standard before the third moonrise.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Hyukjae murmured.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Maintain caution, I was unable to determine the intentions of the one bothering Noona. He did not seem to have directed intent, but that was all,” Donghae said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Okay, thanks,” Hyukjae replied. “We’ve got less than an hour to kill – do you want to keep shopping around?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Sure, I want to stop and get a snack though. Who needs to go to the gym when you can just come here and walk the entire city at least three times twice a day?” Sora joked. “Do we need to meet back up at that guy’s tent?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“If you wish to attend, but only Alex Nelson and myself will need to be there,” Zhou Mi answered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora tilted her a head a little in an approximation of a shrug. “There’s only so much shopping I can really do since that’s about all I’ve been doing for the past three days. I’m getting burned out.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It’s tiring and repetitive,” Hyukjae told Zhou Mi, who nodded at the explanation.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That is understandable. Many vendors are beginning to pack their belongings, so it is possible to merely walk along without any intent of purchasing and mostly without looking.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Sounds good,” Sora agreed. “Come on Hyukjae, let’s go get snacks,” she said, bumping into his shoulder.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We’ll catch up,” Hyukjae said, following Sora back down towards the food terraces.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What’s the thing called that looks like tanghulu?” she asked as they walked through the upper market gates.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“<em>Chipal</em>,” Hyukjae answered, his mouth watering.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Eighteen?” Sora replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“<em>Chipal</em>,” Hyukjae corrected, saying the word slower. “I think I remember one vendor being on the third level.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Nah, Mom found a cheaper one on the first level yesterday.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Really? Wait, why did you want to know what it was called?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Because Mom’s always bought it since she’s usually the one shopping for food,” Sora answered easily as they walked down the terraces. Despite her dress clothes, Hyukjae was hard pressed to keep up with her. “Noona, at least let me keep up with you,” he half whined as he chased his sister down to the first level.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I wasn’t even walking that fast,” she said as she stopped at a small booth, ordering four sticks of <em>chipal</em> with enough market credits to cover it.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No, you were just running,” he returned drolly, glancing around. He noted at least seven groups up and moving around, slaves meekly following their owners or moving with purpose through the crowds, probably on timed errands. He sighed, his mouth tightening behind his mask as he had to divert his attention. He’d already lost count of how many times he’d had to do it, but they absolutely needed to keep a low profile while they restocked and regrouped. He couldn’t help anyone if he was dead or captured and he <em>absolutely</em> needed to keep everyone safe until they could get back to Earth.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It bothers me too,” Sora muttered at him, seeing where his attention was. “It sucks even more for us because we know that could have <em>been</em> us.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Hopefully now that we’re restocked and repaired, we can start helping people again once we can get you guys back,” he told her quietly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah… oh, my thanks,” Sora said, reaching out to grab the sticks of <em>chipal</em>, the small cloth bag tied around her wrist swaying with the movement before she turned to return back to the upper market, all four sticks held between her fingers on both hands, trying to allow the candied sweet fruits to cool down and for the syrup they’d been dipped in to firm up.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What are you guys going to do when we get back?” Sora asked as they walked at a slower pace up the terraces.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged, his eyes constantly scanning. “We’ll probably have to look around for some jobs unless this one pans out and is pretty good credit-wise before we can really plan anything else. It’s been so crazy that we’ve only started trying to catch up on information and making a list of who to reestablish contact with. We’ll probably have to get in contact Mark again–“</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Mark?” Sora asked curiously.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, I know it’s a really Western sounding name. He just goes by Mark, but I doubt it’s close to his legal name. Anyway, we’ll have to contact him and see if he’s got any good-paying jobs, even though we’d prefer to keep with the smaller ones.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Why’s that?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The big paying jobs are always… not exactly legal but also not completely illegal and usually have something to do with some… people… who I think would be better off with a bullet to their brain, but we can’t kill them if we want to get paid. Mark himself and his crew aren’t bad, they mostly just deal in information, but Mark connects people who have jobs with those looking for jobs.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora made a noise of understanding, struggling to not drop their snacks as she tried to tug down her face mask so she could eat one.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Need some help there noona?” he joked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">She huffed. “I need three more arms. Can you carry a couple of these?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grabbed two of the sticks from Sora’s fingers, holding them with one hand. They climbed the final terrace back into the upper market, sliding through the ancient gates. Hyukjae paused as he looked up at the sky, checking to see if the third moon had risen as they walked back towards where the vendor was located, and took a brief moment to admire the sight of what he knew now to be the Carina Nebula.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“<em>Hey</em>,” Sora cried out, snapping his attention back down. Shifting to the right, he caught the small child-thief full on with his body even as he had to drop the <em>chipal</em> so he had both hands free. The kid tried to twist out of Hyukjae’s grasp, but he followed the movement easily, picking the small frame up with one hand wrapped around the kid’s waist and the other across their neck holding their mouth closed. He felt the wild, fluttering pulse under his fingertips as the kid tried to kick themselves free, but Hyukjae held on, keeping them close to his body.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Lady Sora, you are well?” the vendor asked, obviously concerned as he ran towards them with Zhou Mi, Alex, Samuel, Seungchul, and Donghae following.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae noticed that Sora’s hands were a little shaky and he really hoped that the kid hadn’t tried to knock her out with a mild poison. “I’m – I am well,” Sora stuttered, trying to remember the way to talk to not draw attention to the way she spoke. “Just startled,” she assured.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do you wish to punish the child yourself?” the vendor asked, making Sora’s eyes go wide.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We will take care of this matter in private,” Zhou Mi replied, wrapping an arm around Sora. “Do you still have the hairpins?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Down here,” Hyukjae said, nodding towards the small bag that the kid had dropped while trying to get away.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Excellent,” the vendor said. “They will serve as a constant identification for all of my business contacts. I am pleased to make your acquaintance Captain Oshrin, Bing Ma, and I am thankful that we are able to do business with one another.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“The honor is ours, Cheng Bao,” Alex replied smoothly, sneaking glances at the kid still held firmly against Hyukjae. “Our hope is that we will both prosper with our agreements.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">With some bows, Zhou Mi tilted his head towards the food terraces where they could get back on their cargo runner while Cheng Bao – Hyukjae doubted that was his legal name – turned to return to his tent.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What are we going to do with the kid?” Samuel hissed to Hyukjae.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Right now, take them with us. Can you keep an eye on noona? Sometimes thieves will nick someone with a mild poison that’ll knock them out so they can be kidnapped and ransomed,” he said, moving as quickly as he could with a still-struggling child against him. It was sorely tempting to grab the glow knife to make the kid be still, but he didn’t want to hurt them even accidentally. He could hear Donghae whispering into his communicator in his ear, contacting Zoe and telling her to grab Song Qian and to get back to the cargo runner as fast as possible.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He was never so glad to see the cargo runner when they arrived – the kid was much stronger than what Hyukjae could have expected given their size and probable nutrition. He’d actually had to work to keep them still and silent until they were on the runner. Once on board, the kid kept squirming, their vocal cords vibrating against Hyukjae’s fingers as they started trying to yell, but only making muffled noises from Hyukjae holding their jaw shut.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Be still,” Zhou Mi snapped. “You are not in danger.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae was shocked when the kid instantly stopped struggling, even as they started to shake with hot tears starting to leak over his fingers. Sharing a shocked and confused look with Donghae and Zhou Mi, they shook off their confusion to get the cargo runner powered back up as they waited for Zoe and Song Qian to reappear. Hyukjae didn’t dare loosen his grip on the kid at all, even though he could tell that Sora and Samuel were starting to get upset, shooting glances at the kid.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">After what seemed like an eternity, Song Qian walked up the ramp, her mouth already open to probably ask what was going on – it was rare that they would interrupt her time giving with anything short of an emergency – but shut it as soon as she saw the kid in Hyukjae’s arms, shooting him a confused look.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What’s going on?” Zoe asked as she followed Song Qian in and jumped as Donghae pulled the ramp up to get them in the air and back to the ship. She finally spotted the kid and looked around at everyone.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We will discuss the issue at hand as soon as we are back on our ship,” Zhou Mi said, his long fingers flying over the piloting boards as they got airborne and taking the short trip back.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae could feel the kid’s shaking get worse as they landed back on the ship, their breathing fast and shallow as silent tears kept dripping over Hyukjae’s hand on their neck and jaw. Hyukjae felt <em>horrible</em> that he couldn’t even reassure the kid that they weren’t going to be harmed in any way, having to keep his focus directly on them to prevent them from lashing out and trying to run.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Medical area, please,” Song Qian directed as the ramp lowered, her hair already braided. “Now that it is repaired, we should make use of it once more.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded and picked the kid up around their middle. Instead of struggling, they were limp and quiet and <em>shaking</em> as he hauled them through the corridors and sat them on one of the welded beds.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“<em>Damn</em>,” Hyukjae muttered, shaking his arms to try and relieve the soreness from his muscles being so tensed while he held onto the kid. “Hey, take a deep breath, okay?” he told the kid, his voice gentling. “You are safe, and you will not be harmed.” He moved aside for Song Qian and rubbed his arms.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Are your arms okay?” Seungchul asked, noticing the movement.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, they’re a <em>lot</em> stronger than they look or even really should be so I had to keep everything tensed up.” He looked over to see the kid staring at Song Qian with wide eyes, even though they were still silently crying.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I am a time giver, child,” she soothed, patting the tangled hair after gesturing at the bright red marking in between her eyebrows before she tugged the kid’s face mask down to their chin. “You are aware of what we are?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The kid nodded, their breathing still fast as their eyes flickered over all of the adults looking at them.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You must slow your breath,” Song Qian said, her voice incredibly gentle as Amber walked into the medical area. “You will not be harmed in any way and we shall try to honor your decisions.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae leaned into Donghae as Song Qian and Zoe worked to get the kid back down from their panic state before Song Qian was able to quickly scan the kid’s vitals. “Noona?” he asked quietly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora jerked, startled. “Hm?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Are you feeling okay? Not dizzy or anything?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“No, why?” she asked, her eyes constantly shooting back to the kid.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Some child-thieves will scratch a mild poison into potential victims to be kidnapped and ransomed on orders from the adult that either owns them or controls them,” Donghae explained. “We are unaware if this has occurred or if that was their intention.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora looked at her hands, but finally shook her head. “I feel fine – well,” she corrected. “No scratches or anything. I’ll let you know if I start feeling weird.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Oh, is that what you were telling Sam?” Seungchul asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Something is… odd,” Amber muttered, just loud enough for Hyukjae to hear.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Odd how?” he asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber shook her head. “I cannot name it, but something is odd. It is a nebulous feeling.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I harbor the same feeling, Twin,” Donghae added.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked over at Samuel, who was slightly twitching. “You okay?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Samuel grunted a little. “I flip into uncle mode whenever a kid starts crying, since I’m usually taking care of all my nieces and nephews when I’m on leave. My family has me well-trained to soothe a crying kid automatically.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Alex snorted a soft laugh. “You get babysitting duty too?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Samuel nodded. “Sometimes I bring it on myself by trying to take nearly twenty teenagers to little kids to the beach with maybe one to two other adults.” He shrugged. “They’re cute and they all adore me.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi walked into the medical area, his hands rubbing the back of his neck. Hyukjae didn’t miss the way the kid twitched a little, backing further onto the bed. “Do you have a name or a designation, child?” Zhou Mi asked as he sat down on another bed, keeping his hands in view and trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“F –“ the kid hiccupped, more tears spilling out of their eyes. They glanced around, almost as if they were expecting to get hit for not answering perfectly the first time.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Take a deep breath and try again,” Zoe said softly as Song Qian rubbed the kid’s hair.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Fi – five-One,” they said, their voice quivering.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“<em>Fuck</em>,” Hyukjae growled under his breath.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What does that mean?” Sora asked in a whisper.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sighed. “They’re tribute,” he said simply.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What was your purpose in thieving?” Zhou Mi asked, tilting his head. “Are you to return to your owner with stolen goods?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Five-One nodded, their fingers nervously fidgeting.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What is the punishment for not returning?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">A fresh round of tears trailed down their cheeks and while their mouth opened, nothing came out.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You have a sibling that you are concerned for?” Amber asked as she moved to sit next to Zhou Mi.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Five-One nodded.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What punishment would your sibling face if you are unsuccessful?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“He – he would be killed,” Five-One finally managed to get out, hiccupping and sniffling in between words.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded. “Understood. When are you to return?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Sunrise.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">He turned his head slightly, catching Hyukjae’s eyes before jerking his head out the door. Hyukjae nodded. “Come on,” he said quietly, tugging at Donghae’s waist. “Come on to the crew area, we’ve got to discuss what we’re doing,” he told everyone else.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Making sure the left hand knows what the right is doing?” Samuel gruffly asked as he turned.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, I was a little wrapped up in trying to keep the kid from running away, so I don’t have any clue of what’s going on aside from we apparently got a job.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I believe it is a weapons run,” Donghae finally said, snapping himself out of silence as they boarded the lift. “Cheng Bao seems to represent a dissatisfied group who wish to be prepared when the Mandate moves, possibly to overturn local forces.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hummed. “Should pay fairly well, then. Is he going to go after Li Chen?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Unknown,” Donghae replied, shrugging. “If his intentions are to overturn Li Chen, it is tempting to offer our assistance, but I am unaware if that is his true target,” he finished as the admiral shuffled into the crew area, yawning.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“There’s always hope,” Hyukjae joked, making Donghae smile as he sat down in a chair.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What’s this about Li Chen?” the admiral asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“What a mess,” Alex interrupted as she walked into the crew area and sat down next to Samuel. “I mean what <em>can</em> we do for that kid? I’m guessing that sunrise isn’t too far away and while I don’t want them to go back to being a slave I also don’t want to have their brother’s death on my conscience.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on?” the admiral asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“There’s a kid sitting in our medical area right now that tried to steal some jewels noona had, they’re tribute and has until sunrise to return with all of the goods or their brother dies,” Hyukjae explained, hitting the main points.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“So let’s get them both out,” Samuel replied with a shrug, looking up as Zhou Mi and Amber came into the crew area.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That might be a slightly more difficult prospect,” Amber said. “Five-One has given us what she can recall in her current state. There are twenty-five groups of children, all with at least one sibling kept to ensure their return and some groups have two siblings.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We’re talking over <em>fifty</em> kids?” the admiral sputtered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yes. There are at least thirty adults that Five-One can recall distinctly, but ten of them are at the markets to await the children’s return. She is unsure of how many crew members there are, as the children only see a select group.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sighed to himself, boggled at the disproportionate guards to tribute ratio. He would expect more like ten guards for every fifty tribute, not a nearly even split, which meant that with the addition of a normal sized crew, they were looking at possibly eighty to one hundred adults. “Eighty or more total?” he asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Assuming a normal crew size, yes,” Zhou Mi replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We <em>have</em> to get them out,” Samuel said, his voice clipped. Hyukjae looked up, and while Samuel looked just as composed as he ever did, he noticed that Samuel’s jaw was clenching every so often, hinting at some emotional strain. “I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if I just left over fifty <em>kids</em> to just be used and killed at some asshole’s whim.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Count me in,” Seungchul added, his fingers drumming on the table.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The admiral sighed. “While I don’t want to order any of you into danger, I have to agree with you on moral terms.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae raised his eyebrows at Donghae, who looked both pensive and worried. “Who’s going?” he asked into the silence.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae looked at him for a second, a small smile turning the corners of his lips upward, his eyes already beginning to turn blue. “You, me, Twin, these two…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will go as well,” Zhou Mi finished.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Before anyone goes off half-cocked,” the admiral said, resting his arms on the table they were all gathered around. “I have to <em>at least</em> insist you all know what you’re doing with each other and have a basic plan of attack, especially if you’re considering taking prisoners.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head. “They’re all dying,” he said, his voice firm. “There’s no authority to turn them over to and we’d be laughed out of any administration building for even <em>trying</em>. Just because we find it morally wrong doesn’t mean anything in legal terms,” he explained to everyone still looking at him in shock. “They also would have no issues killing all of the kids if they managed to escape,” he added.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">There was absolute silence for a moment before the admiral sighed. “I appreciate the honesty without the bullshit. You two still in?” Both Samuel and Seungchul nodded. “All right. How much time until the shit hits the fan?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Sunrise is approximately one standard from now,” Amber supplied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Can you actually pull this entire thing off in three <em>hours</em>?” Alex asked, almost disbelieving.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Seungchul laughed a little. “I don’t know, that sounds like a hell of a lot of fun to me. I always do better under pressure.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“It’s only three hours, but they’re only expecting to deal with a bunch of scared kids – not us,” Samuel said. “And if we don’t have to consider taking anyone alive, well… that just makes the entire plan stupid and simple.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We will need to locate their ship first,” Amber said. “Five-One’s only information is that the air is cold and that it is near a large body of water. She is unsure of any other details.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Upper latitudes, probably,” Hyukjae mused aloud. “Load up everything in the two attackers and one go north and the other south? I’m guessing that they’re not at a beacon either.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded. “It is most likely that they bribed their way onto the planet. Qinyan’s beacons are all located in warmer regions, nothing like the colder air Five-One has mentioned. We should divide ourselves in two groups to commandeer the ship. We will need their ship for the children to shield them from the knowledge of who freed them lest word get to Imperial forces or to Zhou Li,” he explained to those from Earth.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">The admiral nodded. “That sounds reasonable enough. Who is doing what? You’re going to be inside a ship, so anything ranged is out.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I still have all those explosive packs we ripped out of the probe, so I could probably make a sweet little bomb for a larger group of people,” Seungchul said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“As long as you are not near critical areas, that is an acceptable option,” Zhou Mi agreed. “Since there are possibly as many guards as there are children, and even more crew members, it is likely that some will be asleep, and others will be in a crew area like this.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I can pretty much do anything that’s needed aside from flying one of these,” Samuel offered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber stood up. “It would be advisable that you are grouped with Twin and Hyukjae, then. Hyukjae…”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Flight deck and comms,” he agreed, already knowing what task Amber was going to assign him. He smiled, looking forward to the upcoming fight. “You guys deal with the crew, we’ll commandeer.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Question, what are we taking with us?” Seungchul asked. “Besides my happy toys.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Let us go to the armory. Five-One has informed us that they do have personal protective shields on them while they are around the children. However, their lowest threshold is eight <em>kang</em> if they are turned on,” Zhou Mi said.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Samuel nodded. “So we bring our guns too. Bad news is that there’s six of us and only five guns total.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber shook her head. “Neither Twin nor I will use them, they are too noisy for us to use close to ourselves and would put us at a severe disadvantage.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Got it. Do you two need earplugs or something to muffle the noise?” Seungchul asked the twins as everyone started to stand.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded. “We have some communicators that can function and protect our hearing at the same time. We will need someone to serve watch here and coordinate to obtain plans for the ship unless Five-One knows what design it is?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“She does not other than it is a prison vessel,” Amber replied. “As there is a need for plans of a ship, Song Qian should assist with coordination.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora sighed. “I think I’m just going to go back down and help take care of the kid. I don’t know if I can really listen in on you killing people,” she muttered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Good because I don’t want you to, noona,” Hyukjae shot back in all seriousness, some part of him wanting to shield his family from knowing just what he was capable of. He sighed. “It would probably help Five-One relax a little more if she knows you’re not angry with her,” he said, his voice calming and pointing out what was obvious to him, but probably hadn’t occurred to Sora.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora’s face screwed up in confusion. “Why would I be angry with her?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“She attempted to thieve from you and was caught doing so,” Amber replied. “It does not matter if she was coerced into doing so, anger and punishment will fall upon the tribute. She will be expecting you to be angry and punish her.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora clamped her lips together, her eyes pinching shut. “All right, I’ll talk to her.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“And if you can keep her entertained to keep her mind off things, that’s even better. Send Song Qian up to the armory, too, we need her to unlock it,” Hyukjae added.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Sora rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to Hyukjae’s cheek. “Be careful, all of you,” she chided as she swept out of the crew area with a kiss for Donghae and Amber too.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Armory?” Alex asked.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Come on, it’s a floor above us. Seungchul, go ahead and get all those explosive packs and your gun, there’s more in the armory that you can use to set them off.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Got it,” Seungchul replied as he sprinted down the corridor.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Damn he’s fast,” the admiral muttered. “I’ll stay with Song Qian up on the bridge. Do <em>not</em> get yourself killed Latu and make sure everyone else stays alive too,” he ordered.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Aye, sir,” Samuel replied.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Ditto,” Alex said, glaring a little at everyone, but a beat longer on Samuel. “Do not make me have to track your asses down in any form of an afterlife and send Song Qian up to us as soon as possible so we can start to work.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Before you head up, could you grab all of the guns aside and bring them to the armory?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Alex nodded, leaving the crew area.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do we need to change clothes or anything?” Samuel asked as they all stepped onto the lift, gesturing to his black pants and dark short-sleeved shirt.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You will not but I will,” Zhou Mi said as he pulled the hairpin out of his hair, his fingers also quickly untying the fabric sash that held his overcoat closed. “Keep your face masks on as well,” he added as the lift slowed at the floor where they kept the armory. “I will join you promptly at the armory once I am in more appropriate attire.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Song Qian appeared within a minute at the armory, outwardly composed but her head tilting. “What has been decided?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“We’re going to kill the crew, steal the ship, and get them out,” Hyukjae said simply. “Can you do control?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">She nodded her head once and stepped up to the security panel that kept the armory locked with Donghae.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Samuel whistled lowly as the large doors opened and the lights turned on. “<em>Damn</em>,” he muttered. “How did you get all this?”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled a little and stepped inside the armory. “Remember that charge of illegal distribution of controlled goods? This was our fee.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Holy <em>crap</em>,” Seungchul exclaimed as he skidded to a stop just inside the door. “That… that… that’s a lot of weapons.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded, his hands already pulling several of their standard weapons off the charging station and setting them down on the large table in the center of the room before turning around to grab holsters, but stopping to give Song Qian an affectionate kiss as she twisted the high-grade communicators into her ears before she left.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Come back alive,” she said before taking her leave.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Here, strap these to your thigh on your dominant side,” Hyukjae instructed, tossing the holsters on the table. “The loop goes up and over the small hook that sticks out. The button under it is the safety. White means it’s locked, red is live, it works on a charge and don’t worry about collateral damage behind a target. A body provides enough resistance to the shot that it won’t travel beyond one person. Anything in the chest or torso area will be an instant kill along with the head,” he explained quickly.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber and Donghae already had their weapons in place and were moving through the armory, grabbing assorted weapons including a large shotgun type weapon that Hyukjae knew could punch a hole in pretty much anything short of a flagship’s outer hull.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Is there anything like det cord?” Seungchul asked, looking around, setting the eight red explosive packs down on the table.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head, reaching over to grab some form of gel-like adhesive. “No, but you can stick them together with this and there’s some timed triggers that you can use that can set them off.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Okay. How nasty is this explosive?” Seungchul asked, lifting one of the explosive packs.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“That one is designed for fragmentation,” Donghae answered, setting down three packs of a green colored gel that Hyukjae knew was explosive. “These are designed for pressure waves to cause the most injury and death.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Got it,” Seungchul said, nodding, his hands grouping the packs to where he wanted them to be. “You got anything I can toss in for shrapnel?” he asked, sealing two of the green packs together and arranging three of the red packs in a triangle.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I will obtain unneeded items that you may use,” Amber said, moving towards the back of the armory.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grabbed several glow knives since he knew they needed to maintain their silence as long as possible while working towards the flight deck. He vaguely listened to everyone shuffling about as he put them all in easy-to-reach places that wouldn’t interfere with his ability to move. He looked up as he heard a gun’s magazine being shoved in, only a little surprised that Alex had already come back to drop off the guns with Zhou Mi. Samuel quickly chambered a round before flipping the safety on and finding a good spot for him to keep it.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“You promise you guys know what you’re doing?” Alex asked, her fingers nervously tapping the table.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“As much as what we can know what we’re doing,” Samuel replied. “Chullie, you take Alex’s gun too since it’s a twenty-two. We should have at least two per group but since you’re dealing with crew and guards, you might need some extra bullets in case they have shields. Zhou Mi, you can use this one, Hyukjae, this one for you.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Thank you,” Hyukjae said. Even after over six years, he could still recognize the heavier weight in his hands before he checked the safety along with the magazine to see how many bullets he had to work with before reassembling it and chambering a round as Alex left for the flight deck.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Make sure you use your non-dominant hand to wrap around your wrist and around the base of the gun to prevent too much recoil,” Samuel instructed to Zhou Mi, miming the action with his hands. “Unlike your weapons, bullets can and do travel through multiple objects, so you have to be careful where you’re aiming. Aim for the head if you have any doubts where a bullet might go.” Zhou Mi nodded, assimilating the information.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Do we have everything?” he asked, watching Seungchul adhesive in some shrapnel between packs.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Yeah just a second,” Seungchul muttered, his thumbnail scraping up a side, trying to pull the packs apart. He nodded as they stayed stuck together, putting them in a cargo pocket of his pants and dropping the fuses and triggers into another. “Good to go.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Amber handed out the communicators in pairs to everyone. “Put one in each ear and attach the connected patch to the skin of your throat. There are internal sensors that will pick up much softer sounds than you will be accustomed to hearing, but anything over a certain threshold will trigger their silencing ability. You will be able to communicate as you normally would with both Song Qian and each other once the communicators are active. Be cautious in using them before we have boarded their craft, it is possible for sensors to recognize the communications but once inside it would be impossible for them to be detected.”</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae twisted his in, shifting his jaw back and forth to settle them in place, seeing everyone doing the same thing and turning them on. “Let’s go,” he said, aware that their time was ticking away and that they still needed to find the damn ship.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“I have opened the hangar door, but the lights are off so that it will not alert anyone. Be cautious boarding the attackers,” Song Qian said into their communicators.</p><p class="FicStyle"> </p><p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Amber replied. “Let us depart,” she said, moving out of the door.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>spoiler alert: that volunteer up that the VIS (it's technically the Ellison Onizuka Visitor Information Station) that loves Eta Carinae? Yeah that's your author. I have actually been a volunteer up there and you can see the nebula in late June-July, it's very pretty. lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Gunshot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>warnings: gore, much violence, lots of rather gleeful murder, very moral ambiguity (eunhae get off on said gleeful murder), and even though it is not explicit, there is definitely implied rape and child sexual assault.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you are triggered by such but still want to read the chapter, it is between the lines of 'Zhou Mi slipped into the middle room on the left.' and 'You will not be insulted further.' Take care of yourself first and foremost.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There's also implied and referenced genetic modification done to people against their will. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I tried to keep this under 10k. I really did. It didn't work. 12k and even this was a struggle to find a decent breaking point. Grab a drink and get comfy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="FicStyle">They’d managed to get into the attackers and out of the ship within five minutes, Amber directing her attacker north while Donghae piloted he and Samuel south. Hyukjae fiddled with the hem of his shirt between his fingers as he waited for one of the twins to indicate that they found the ship they were looking for.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You okay?” Samuel asked quietly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked up, a little jerkily. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel nodded, and Hyukjae was thankful that he didn’t press further. He was very, very much looking forward to the upcoming fight, and he knew Donghae was as well.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He wanted to kill someone.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">While they’d been on the run for the past year, he’d had to ignore the urge to do so and took out all of his frustrations on the training dummies since they couldn’t slow down long enough for him to hunt up one of his preferred targets. He at least had retained enough morals to limit his murderous tendencies to a broad category of <em>those that hurt others</em>; but he didn’t kid himself that he did anything other than wave at the <em>in defense of others</em> moral as he breezed by it. He knew his anticipation wasn’t really coming from freeing a bunch of kids trapped in tribute, or that he was seeking revenge for all those kids that had probably already been killed by those fuckers, it was anticipating the adrenaline rush and upcoming carnage.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Freeing the kids from tribute was just a nice little bonus.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Twin,” Donghae suddenly said, startling Hyukjae out of his thoughts. “I believe I have located the ship.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Amber replied. “I am redirecting to your location.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Could there be more ships that bribed their way in?” Samuel asked, peeking up around Donghae’s flight chair.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Others have. I have already located at least three other ships, but this is one is closer to the southern pole to make the air significantly cooler and it is the only one next to a large body of water, as Five-One indicated. Twin can either confirm or refute my suspicion once she arrives.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“They can’t see us, but can they hear us?” Samuel wondered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“No, we are far enough away that the sound of the attacker cannot be heard unless one is using very sensitive listening devices,” Donghae explained. “At even half one <em>li</em>, one cannot hear a stealthed attacker with normal hearing.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“How far is a <em>li</em>?” Samuel asked Hyukjae.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“About a kilometer. It looks like the western side is probably the best way to approach it – there’s a lot of vegetation to cover us,” he said, talking to both Samuel and Donghae.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Twin,” Amber said, her holographic image flickering into view. “This is the correct ship, there is nothing towards the north, nor on the other side of the water. Let us land and proceed.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Donghae replied, moving the attacker towards the west of the ship. “Hyukjae has noted vegetation to the west, it is best that we find a landing near there.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Can it be determined what type the ship is?” Song Qian asked. Hyukjae guessed that she was already narrowing down the possible types of ships while she waited for any kind of confirmation.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It is a slightly newer model of the same type of prison vessel we use,” Zhou Mi said after a moment. “No more than two models newer for certain.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Then the best point of entry is through the lower cargo hold – it is in the exact location we are accustomed to. The model directly after our ship will have the communications area in the same location as ours, but one further model will move it to be on the same level as the flight deck. All crew areas will remain static for all, but the prison level will go down two levels in both one and two models newer,” Song Qian rattled off. “Are there signature readings?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“No, they have powered the ship down entirely,” Donghae answered. “They will have mobile guards instead of using sensors.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae’s lips tilted upwards. While they could get past any sensors that the ship could be running with a minimum of difficulty, it was even easier since the ship was powered down. Donghae set their attacker down next to Amber’s, setting the systems to standby instead of powering down completely as they normally would.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ready?” Hyukjae asked. Samuel only nodded, pulling his face mask on. Hyukjae pulled his on as well as they dropped out of the attacker onto the ground. The air was very cool, but he knew they’d warm up on the way.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Fuck it’s cold,” Samuel muttered, shivering.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We will warm up as we move,” Amber replied quietly, starting to lead the way towards the ship.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You’re saying that to someone from the <em>tropics</em>,” Samuel muttered, but obligingly followed Amber.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I’ve got drag,” Seungchul said, waving everyone forward.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae paused for a moment but nodded his head. “I will travel just ahead of you to warn of potential dangers,” he agreed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae felt entirely out of place and noisy as they walked through the growth of trees and high, hardy shrubs and grasses. He knew that he hadn’t had the training to move as soundlessly as everyone else did, but it still didn’t stop him from wincing every time something crunched under his foot. As they reached the edge of the vegetation, Amber signaled everyone to pause.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Four guards,” she whispered to give everyone else an indication of why they were stopping. “Twin.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae moved forward with Amber silently. While they were somewhat visible from the light of three moons, only one was full and with their dark clothing, they nearly disappeared as soon as they darted forward to another line of shrubs. It was a tense wait, and somewhere around the five-minute mark, Samuel touched Hyukjae’s arm to get his attention before pointing forward, then a thumbs up, tilting his head at the same time.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded, indicating that the twins were fine. It was still another five minutes before Zhou Mi shifted his weight.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We may proceed,” he whispered, leading the way.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Both of the twins were waiting for them in the shadow of the ship, next to an open ramp. “We waited for the guards to complete their check,” Amber explained in a whisper as they climbed aboard. “It will be some time before any alarm will be raised from their absence.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Well let’s not wait around,” Seungchul replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Be sure to activate your communicators,” Donghae advised, tapping the soft patch on his throat.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You have boarded?” Song Qian asked into his ears as soon as he had activated his own.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes,” Amber replied, also having received the broadcast. “The ship is two models newer if you require detailed plans. We are proceeding.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Splitting up at the door, Hyukjae followed Donghae down the hall to the left while Zhou Mi, Amber, and Seungchul went off to the right to move through the access paths that would begin at the prison level. They would work their way up; Hyukjae, Donghae, and Samuel would start working their way down from the flight deck. Hyukjae had to check every so often that Samuel was still behind him – the larger man moved so damn silently that it caused Hyukjae to start to worry.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">There were a couple of times on the climb that Donghae paused them, his head tilted in a characteristic listening pose, before motioning them forward. Even though it wasn’t a staircase, the ramps were still steep enough that Hyukjae felt his muscles having to work to keep their pace until they finally came to the nearly twenty-meter-long ladder that would bring them directly up onto the flight deck.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel looked up, his face a little disgruntled in the dull red light. “How high is that?” he whispered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“About fifteen to twenty meters,” Hyukjae replied in kind. “The rungs are really smooth, so if you feel like you’re going to slip, it’s better to wait a second to keep your hands dry and your feet steady.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel rolled his eyes but nodded at the directions. Donghae was definitely cursing under his breath as he led the way, and Hyukjae tried to keep his thoughts calm – even if the thoughts weren’t anything more than flipping through options of how to kill everyone on the flight deck and in the communication room, it still helped Donghae keep the panic at bay. Neither one of the twins was fond of heights, and while they could bury their fears to get something accomplished, it was still incredibly taxing for them mentally and Hyukjae knew it.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae had them pause as they pulled themselves up into a small room that was something like a janitorial closet except it was only to give access to the interior structures of the ship. Hyukjae could hear the shuffling of people walking by, followed by a snatch of conversation he couldn’t be bothered to remember. Donghae’s eyes glowed briefly in the dim light as Samuel silently shut the access panel.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“There are eight total on this level,” Donghae told them, his voice barely heard. “They are changing positions early,” he said, confused.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“They are unaware of our presence, Twin,” Amber said into their ears, her voice calm. “Their motives for changing positions early are unknown, but they are unaware.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Easier to catch them all at once,” Hyukjae added, shrugging. “Is the hall clear?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Okay, give me a second to get the communications room cleared out,” he said, pushing the door open a crack. It was habitual that he paused, even though Donghae could easily tell him if someone was coming, before he darted out into the hallway, running flat out as he pulled out a glow knife in each hand. Until the level was clear, he needed silence and their weapons were anything but silent. Flipping one of the glow knives on, he used his momentum from running to shove one knife right into the base of the skull of the guy closest to the door, hearing the body thumping to the floor as the internal heat of the knife blade seared the tissue around it. The other guy had barely moved before Hyukjae whipped him around, his right hand covering the mouth while his left easily came up to slit the throat ear to ear.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He smiled behind his face mask as the guy jerked hard in his hands, trying ineffectually to scream, blood splattering everywhere on the communication screens and on the console. Luckily, the Zhang designers had already worked out how to liquid-proof any and all surfaces that needed to be, so he knew that the arterial spray wasn’t going to hurt anything they might need to work.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Jai,” Donghae hissed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae turned his head, unconcerned about the body still jerking in his hold. “Hm?” he asked, a little spaced out.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Both Donghae and Samuel were there, Samuel just blinking slowly. “There are still six,” Donghae reminded him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh right,” Hyukjae muttered, suddenly reminded that they were far from done. Flipping the knife to his right hand, he turned it on, and stabbed upward through the gaping wound before twisting. Leaving the knives in the bodies, Hyukjae just wiped his hands on one of the bodies to get the worst of the blood off so they could be somewhat dry before he reached up to disable the ship-side communications. The people at the markets wouldn’t have any idea what was going on unless they tried to contact the ship and even then, couldn’t get any reports until they returned. “Are they all on the flight deck?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded. “They only hold the alertness of changing their shift, but we dare not delay.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Prison level is neutralized, going to crew level next,” Zhou Mi reported.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Song Qian replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae could easily imagine Song Qian manipulating the holographic images, coloring each area cleared. “Communications clear as well, moving to flight deck,” he whispered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Quickly,” Donghae hissed. “They are almost done.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Samuel, you deal with the pilots. Aim for the right – the right as we’re looking at them – pilot, they’re the closest to an alarm, then the left while Donghae and I ambush the three coming out,” Hyukjae quickly directed, pulling another glow knife out.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel nodded, pulling out the standard Zhang weapon. “I’ll cover you from the door.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shared a look with Donghae, both of them silently telling each other how much they loved the other and to be careful in the upcoming fight.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Intr–“ one guy started to shout, only to be cut off as Donghae delivered a devastating blow to the throat, collapsing the windpipe. Hyukjae wished he could just sit and watch Donghae fight, but he leaped over the body, burying the glow knife deep in another throat. He kept the body up to cover himself and some of Donghae, who was still fighting with the last one, covered from the three – two, he mentally corrected – as Samuel shot the pilot on the right hand side and they slumped down, missing almost half of their head. Ducking down as the second pilot collapsed and dropping his body shield, he rolled towards the weaponry chair, fluidly moving upwards, letting the glow knife catch inside the soft tissues of the gut before he <em>yanked</em> the blade upward, literally splitting the man open. Hyukjae grinned behind his mask as various internal organs were becoming external and falling past and on his hands.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That’s disgusting,” Samuel muttered as he looked around at the carnage. “I call not it on cleaning this place up.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Flight deck clear,” Donghae finally panted to Song Qian.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That’s what the robots are for,” Hyukjae giggled to Samuel, shrugging. “Most we have to do is toss the body, the robots clean up everything else.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Handy. Are you usually like this?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae was confused for a brief second before he realized Samuel was asking about the near-gleeful abandon that he killed with. “Yeah. Let’s keep moving until we meet up with everyone,” he said, shooing Samuel out of the flight deck. Reaching down, he twisted one of the glow knives that was still buried in a body that was twitching before pulling it out and turning it on to let the blood sizzle in the heat before he put it back, jogging off the flight deck.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Lift,” Donghae said as they passed the small room they had come out of. “We do not have gloves to ensure we will not fall,” he reasoned, as if he needed a reason other than he and Amber hated heights of any kind.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae knew that going down was always worse than coming up, and he reached out, briefly touching Donghae’s arm. “We’re moving down,” he reported as he listened in on Zhou Mi, Amber, and Seungchul briefly discussing how to deal with the larger open area of the crew area, all of them settling on letting Seungchul toss in a couple of bombs as he, Donghae, and Samuel stepped onto the lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae was frowning and then looked shocked as the lift stopped. Before the doors had barely cracked open, Donghae already had his weapon out and was firing into the two guards on either side of the lift, taking care of the most immediate threat, but in addition there were another four people gathered around with another three coming down the hallway.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae burst out, grabbing someone around the throat, using them as a living shield as he pulled his weapon up, firing in as much of an arc as he dared, since he didn’t know exactly where Samuel or Donghae were, only that they were somewhere hopefully behind him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Clear,” Samuel barked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae aimed down the hallway, easily taking out two of the three as he let the body in front of him drop. The third <em>ran</em> back down the hallway and Hyukjae didn’t even really stop to think, just leaped over any obstacles to chase the running person down. He was fast on his feet, and once he’d caught up enough, he raised his weapon and fired.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Cursing as the shot went into a wall, leaving a slight scorch mark behind, he shoved his weapon back into its holster and pulled a glow knife out into each hand. Skidding into the medical area right behind the person he was chasing, he kicked them in the back and sent them to the floor. Using them as a launch pad, he jumped, burying a glow knife right into a heart with his right hand before whipping around in a spin to stab another person in the throat with his left. With his hands free, he punched forward, stunning the last person enough to let Hyukjae give their neck a brutal twist. Just as that body dropped to the ground, he grabbed the person he’d only knocked over since they were once again trying to get away and just as easily snapped their neck.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">A sob had him spinning down, crouching as he looked for any threats.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He froze as he spotted the small body strapped down onto a medical bed, jerking himself out as he heard Donghae whimper, whipping his head around. It didn’t take him more than a second to realize that something had triggered Donghae right into a panic attack.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Shit, shit, <em>shit</em>, Hae,” he said softly, grabbing Donghae’s face in his bloody hands. Most of the blood smeared across Donghae’s face mask. “Look at me okay, just look at me. Come on, just breathe,” he whispered, standing close to Donghae to block his view. “Come back, it’s okay,” he soothed, hating the absolute terror in Donghae’s eyes, the tears leaking out of the corners, and the slight shaking he could feel under his fingers.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae was so incredibly grateful that Samuel didn’t ask questions, just did a quick visual check of the room and kept watch as he tried to pull Donghae back from whatever memory he was trapped in.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Mimi, get up to the med area,” he hissed into the communicator. “Everything here is cleared out.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Song Qian replied, her voice tight.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Zhou Mi repeated, slightly out of breath.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Come on, just look at me, take a deep breath in,” he coached as Donghae seemed to focus just enough on his face.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae tried to draw in a shuddering breath, but his breathing was still far too fast and shallow for Hyukjae’s liking.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“There you go, just focus on me and breathe,” he repeated, rubbing his thumbs over Donghae’s cheekbones. “Come back, it’s okay. You’re not there anymore,” he soothed, looking into the glowing blue eyes. His entire focus was on Donghae and trying to bring him out of the panic, and it was almost a shock when he heard another loud gasp in his ears.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber was standing utterly, terrifyingly still, shock and panic flying across her face before Zhou Mi nearly flew into the room behind her. Zhou Mi’s face clouded over, as if he was getting lost in memories too, but there was a terrible, vengeful edge to it as well. Hyukjae held on a little tighter to Donghae in reaction as he could almost feel Zhou Mi’s temper detonating, even though he knew that Zhou Mi wouldn’t ever take out his anger on any of them. A sob from behind Hyukjae had Zhou Mi snapping back, his long arms pushing Amber towards her twin before he gathered them both up, hugging them tightly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Come back,” he whispered. “Listen to my voice, hear my words,” he continued. “You are not trapped there any longer and you will never be trapped there again. Take a deep breath in,” he ordered. Both Amber and Donghae sucked in a deep breath of air. “Breathe deeply and move out of the memories, follow my voice and follow the sense of everyone around you back into the present,” he said, his voice just loud enough for it to be heard.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Both of the twins shook, but Hyukjae relaxed as their breathing settled into a more normal rhythm as Zhou Mi used the obedience command line of their genetic modifications to bring them back out of panic mode. It was something he rarely did, as he preferred to not issue orders to the twins and to let them develop their own coping skills to move out of their memories, so whatever was going on was definitely out of the ordinary.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Come back to the present,” Zhou Mi said, softly stroking his hands through their hair. The twins seemed to sink into his hug, their breathing still a little fast, but not so desperately panicked. Donghae broke away first to burrow into Hyukjae’s arms, his body still shaking slightly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Thank you,” Donghae whispered, pressing his forehead against Hyukjae’s.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Be calm, children,” Zhou Mi said. “You are in no danger. I ask that you remain calm until we are able to arrange a time giver to assist you. It will be no more than one standard. Is that acceptable?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes,” the oldest of the kids strapped down replied, even as a few of the younger ones sniffed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi bowed slightly. “We must take our leave to ensure your siblings are not harmed upon their return to the ship so that we may take all of you into safety. We will return for you.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi jerked his head at the doors and Hyukjae half pushed Donghae to get him moving.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What has happened?” Song Qian demanded through their earpieces.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi took a shuddering breath in as soon as they were out in the hall, both Samuel and Seungchul looking at everyone curiously. “Something… I will have to inform you after the children have returned,” he replied softly. “How much time do we have until the sun rises?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It is rising now,” Song Qian said after a moment. Hyukjae knew that she was getting ticked off that Zhou Mi hadn’t told her what was wrong, but he knew that they needed to save the kids first. She would understand in hindsight.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed. We still have to sweep the officer quarters,” he said.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Twin, you should go to the lower cargo hold to scout advantageous points and to await the children. I will follow Zhou Mi to ensure there is no danger from awareness, but we will convene promptly,” Amber said quickly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded and ran down the hallway towards the main lift. Hyukjae followed everyone else to the secondary lift and pulled out his weapon, checking the charge and that the safety was off.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“There will be six officer quarters,” Song Qian said into their ears. “Three lower officers are on one side, the captain, first mate, and engineer are on the other.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Boarding the lift, Amber’s eyes glowed as they were whisked down a floor and the lift slowed. “Only two, both middle quarters,” she said. “The one on the left side is asleep, the other…” She scowled. “The other has a tribute for recreational activities with them.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae growled softly, putting his weapon back in its holster and grabbing his last glow knife. “Why don’t you head on down to the cargo hold? We’ll take care of it.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber looked relieved. “My thanks. Remain cautious,” she warned as they stepped out of the lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Does that…?” Samuel asked, obviously barely holding onto his temper.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Mean that someone’s raping one of the kids? Yeah,” Hyukjae replied, his stomach twisting.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Motherfucker won’t get the death he deserves because we have to rush,” Seungchul growled, his fingers twitching.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will kill the sleeping one,” Zhou Mi said after a brief second. “As there is a tribute, I will recommend you three go there to extract them. Jai…”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “I know what to look for,” he said in assurance, tightening his grip on the glow knife. Zhou Mi slipped into the middle room on the left.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae took a deep breath as he nudged the door to open. The sounds and smells of sex hit him like a wave and he barely had time to roll up out of his crouch before Samuel was barreling into the room, covering the ground within two seconds, his big hands wrapping around the officer’s neck.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Wait,” Hyukjae yelled when it looked like Samuel was about to throw them, spotting a spark of green in between the girl’s immobile legs.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What?” Seungchul snapped.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Just hold him still,” Hyukjae sniped, flipping the glow knife on. Grabbing a handful of hair, Hyukjae yanked the officer back just enough for him to slip his hand between the girl that was deathly still on the bed, a green, sparkling field covering her body and swing the glow knife down, severing the officer’s dick from the rest of his body, making sure he kept the glowing cock ring on the dick. “Okay <em>now</em> you can go have fun. Just… leave me a little something.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae could hear the muffled screaming under Samuel’s hands, and he looked down at the girl. She looked barely fifteen years old, her body developed too quickly from abuse. “I am getting you out of this field, child,” he told her. “You are safe, but I need you to remain still once this is off,” he continued, his voice as gentle and calming as he could make it and despite the sounds of bones breaking behind him. “Do you know where the control is?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Her eyes flickered to her left. Leaning up and over, he found the control attached to her left ear, which explained her utter silence since her eyes were the only thing she <em>could</em> move. His fingers quickly turned it off. The green field disappeared almost immediately, and Hyukjae grabbed the cock ring and the small bit of limp flesh that remained between her legs, tossing them away. Standing up, he grabbed the thin cover and wrapped her naked, shivering body in it. Tears rolled silently out of her eyes as she stared up at him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“After we leave, I ask that you remain here until our time giver comes to retrieve you. It is for your safety that I ask that of you,” he said, keeping his hands in view and almost sad that he couldn’t hear muffled screaming behind him anymore.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">She nodded mutely, curling into herself.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Rest for now, child. You will not be insulted further.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Turning around, he saw Seungchul and Samuel taking turns trying to beat the officer into nothing more than a blood stain on the floor and he could tell that the man was already dead. “Aw you didn’t leave anything for me to have fun with,” he mock complained.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel was near shaking with rage, but he finally pulled back, breathing hard. “I think you’ve already had plenty of fun killing people,” he countered as he pulled Seungchul up. “What was that?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Come quickly,” Donghae hissed. “Some have returned.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head, shoving both of them to get them moving. He didn’t see Zhou Mi, so he guessed that he’d already gone down. “Hard to explain in less than thirty seconds. Later,” he promised, waving a hand as they ran down the hall to the lift. “Going to need your guns since they’re going to have their shields on around the kids,” he said as the lift slowed to a stop, pulling his borrowed gun out and flipping the safety off.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Skidding to a stop just outside the open lower cargo doors, he crouched down to peek. Zhou Mi was hiding behind a small stack of cargo while the twins were a bit further into the hold. “How many?” he whispered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“There are twelve children, five guards now,” Amber reported. “Wait for this group to come up the ramp before you move into the room and stay low.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae waited until he heard footsteps on the ramp before he crouch-walked into the hold, hiding himself behind another stack of cargo, seeing Samuel do the same as he went to Zhou Mi. Seungchul followed Hyukjae, peeking around the cargo to get an idea of where the guards were standing. Seungchul tapped Hyukjae on the shoulder, pointing to himself, then to a hidden alcove closer to the outside ramp. Hyukjae nodded, holding up a finger to signal him to wait until the next group came up. Seungchul nodded in return.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae counted up the minutes as he waited for either Amber or Donghae to indicate that everyone was aboard. Seungchul moved off into the alcove after about three minutes as a smaller group of children trudged up the ramp.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Last group,” Amber warned as she slipped outside of the cargo hold since her hearing was far more sensitive than Donghae’s. Donghae was across the hold, hiding behind some cargo and near the open cargo door. Hyukjae could hear the sounds of footsteps coming up the ramp and he kept his face in a shadow as he looked out to mark all of the places of the guards as he tightened his hands on the gun.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Complete,” she whispered into their communicators.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Aim for the head in three, two, one, <em>go</em>,” Samuel hissed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae easily rose up out of his squat just enough to aim and squeeze the trigger at the guard closest to him. He winced as the recoil was much harsher than he remembered, but he shifted slightly, aiming for another and using the cargo as a prop. He dropped back down as sparks shot off the cargo right in front of him, hearing more gunshots firing off and the sound of the kids screaming and crying out in fear. Rolling back up and moving to his right, he took aim for one who was aiming a weapon right where Seungchul was hiding in his alcove. Firing off a shot, he watched the guard drop right after firing their shot off, sparks flying.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Then, silence aside from the quiet, gulping sobs.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Chullie?” Samuel asked, his voice worried. “Chullie?” he snapped, his voice louder.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ow goddamn,” Seungchul replied. “Got grazed on my arm,” he said, hissing slightly in pain. “Thank fuck he was a bad shot but this stings like a <em>motherfucker</em>.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“How badly are you injured?” Song Qian asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Didn’t hit me fully, it just looks like a burn,” he said.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed. Ber, please return with him so that we may leave,” Song Qian followed up. “Jai, Hae, remain there, confirm the ship is able to achieve flight and any stealthing capabilities it may have.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Donghae replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Please remain calm, children,” Zhou Mi said as he stood up. “I will return you to your siblings so that we may take you to a location of safety. I ask that you follow me,” he firmly said. Hyukjae wasn’t surprised to see the kids all line up, following Zhou Mi further into the ship, all of them trained and beaten into accepting orders on what to do even them being as scared as they were. “Please wait for me before entering the flight deck,” he shot over his shoulder.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He heard Song Qian growl a bit in annoyance, but Hyukjae nodded, catching Donghae’s eyes as he watched Amber leading Seungchul back down the ramp as Seungchul kept his left arm close to his body.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hae go grab your attacker, I’ll start the power up and open the hangar doors,” Hyukjae said into the communicator, his hands shaking slightly. Donghae looked almost as on edge as Hyukjae felt, but they had to get off Qinyan with both of their attackers and with all of the kids before they could actually give in to their libidos, so Donghae nodded, running down the ramp. Even waiting for Zhou Mi, Hyukjae guessed that he had at least ten minutes before Donghae could get back. “Come on up,” he told Samuel with a nudge.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He and Samuel nearly dragged themselves back to the lift, the adrenaline of the past couple of hours starting to drain. As the lift shot upwards, Hyukjae tapped his side of communications off and ran his hands through his hair, stretching his back. He moaned a little in the back of his throat as he felt something in his back shift back into place.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“<em>Fuck</em>,” Hyukjae muttered as he pulled his face mask off, leaving it at that. His skin was itching both from the combat high but also the drying blood.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You said it,” Samuel agreed as he unhooked his own mask and perched it on his shoulder before he tapped his own patch. “I take it the names are shortened to obscure identity?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae groaned, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, sorry. It’s just second nature to us and we didn’t even think of telling you.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel shrugged. “I worked it out pretty quick from context. What do you call her?” he asked, pointing at the patch.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh, uh, either Control or Vic.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Vic?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “It’s what she wanted to be called. We all use something that’s close enough to our names to make us respond without thinking.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Why Jai and not Jae?” Samuel asked, tilting his head.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Jae is apparently really hard for a lot of language to pronounce correctly. Jai, however, is a pretty common name, so it’s just close enough to make me respond.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Okay, what was that green thing now that we have a minute or two?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It’s an immobilizer. That’s what the people that captured me used to keep me still while they were torturing me, this one works kind of the same way, but he’d also hooked it up to that cock ring to make sure she couldn’t move until he was soft. That’s why I told you to wait and why cut his dick off where I did – so the immobilizer couldn’t just stay on because the cock ring was too far away even though I turned the control off. Possibly unneeded, but it’s a reasonable precaution.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah,” Samuel breathed in understanding. “Kind of wish I could have dragged that out a little more,” he muttered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “I just wish you both left me something, but I guess I can’t fault you for beating him to death.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel looked at him, askance. “You are enjoying this entirely too much, aren’t you?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged again. “Yeah, I tend to do that. As long as myself and the people I consider my family and close friends make it out alive, I’m fine with it.” He sighed, grimacing a bit as he realized just how far gone most people would consider him. “Honestly, if I was back on Earth, anyone with half a braincell would put me in a cell and throw the key away. Out here… well, I go after people who are either credible threats or slavers and that’s good enough for me. It’s been a while since I killed someone just because I <em>could</em>. Got a little drunk off it, and as a bonus, we just got a lot of kids out of tribute status,” he laughed. “Can’t wait until we’re off this damn planet and can lock the ships together. Oh, there you are,” he said as Zhou Mi walked down the hall.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We will move with all possible speed so that we arrive at a place we can rest briefly,” Zhou Mi replied. Since his voice didn’t echo slightly, Hyukjae could assume that he’d turned his side of the communications off as well.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel looked between Zhou Mi and Hyukjae. “Do I want to know?” he rumbled.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hyukjae and Donghae have a very… predictable reaction to combat.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You guys fuck it out, don’t you?” Samuel asked Hyukjae, who nodded, smiling. He elected to omit the far too much information that neither he nor Donghae particularly cared if they were near a dead body while they fucked each other off the adrenaline high. As long as they got each other off somehow, they were fine. “So why’d you want us to wait?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I have not yet killed the captain of this vessel,” Zhou Mi said, walking into the flight deck. Sure enough, a slightly older man was struggling as much as he could against an immobilizing field sitting in the weapons chair. Hyukjae didn’t really want to know where Zhou Mi scrounged that up from nor how he’d taken the captain and gotten him up to the flight deck and then back down to the cargo hold before the rest of them had appeared. Zhou Mi walked to stand in front of the soon to be former captain.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Let me out of this,” the captain growled. “Either immediate wealth or pain of death awaits you.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi scoffed. “I do not care for wealth or any of your pathetic claims,” he said as he hooked his fingers around his ear and then pulled his mask off.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“<em>You</em>,” the captain hissed, his face twisted up into something that was both revulsion and fear.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes. Me,” Zhou Mi said, smoothly pulling a glow knife out and burying it to the hilt in the captain’s eye. The body slumped forward, held up by the immobilizing field, blood dripping to the floor.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You knew him?” Hyukjae asked as he kicked a body to the floor, his fingers touching the screens and powering the entire ship on.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Knew of him,” Zhou Mi corrected. “His clan is a minor branch that was married into my clan a two Emperors ago. I recognized his clan signature and wanted the opportunity to kill him when he knew clearly who I am.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Glancing at the readouts as the life support systems came back on, Hyukjae scowled. The prison level was barely seventy percent of normal pressure and the air circulation was almost halved. Touching the readout, he bumped both settings back to full, knowing that it was done as a tactic to keep the kids weaker and less likely to fight back since they would be far more prone to passing out. Retracting the cargo ramp, he started the engines, the gentle thrum he was used to vibrating his chair slightly. He finally got annoyed at his fingers sticking to the screens with the remains of brain and guts and blood, so he grabbed at the underside of the console, hoping that there were some cleaning cloths held there like there normally would be for the robots to grab. Thankfully, they were, and he wiped his hands down at the same time he cleaned off the most used and needed portions of the screens along with the piloting chair. The robots could take care of the rest.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Jai, I have arrived,” Donghae said.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Opening hangar door,” Hyukjae said as soon as he’d tapped his communicator back to transmitting, sliding his fingers across the screens, bouncing his foot with the excess energy. “Control.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Listening,” Song Qian promptly responded.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“There is stealthing and all readouts are good. We will have a full seal as soon as I shut the hangar door, nearly full power, and weapons functional. Hae should be up here soon.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed. Ber has arrived and we will contact Chang Ba’s office to get permission for flight. We will meet at a nearby system to join the vessels and to discuss the next five points of our plans.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Hyukjae replied, tapping at the screens to pull up the navigational data while he turned his communicator back off. Song Qian had mentioned five points with a nearby system, and he smiled as he found the coordinates for Five Spokes, a jump that would take them maybe all of ten minutes and easily punched them in. He smiled as he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his shoulders. “Hi. We’re going to Five Spokes,” he told Donghae.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah, I am grateful you were able to decipher that system quickly,” Donghae said lowly, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Hyukjae’s mouth. It was nothing more than a tease and a promise for later, when they had a little time. Donghae shoved the dead body that was draped over his side of the console off and then dropped down into the seat once it had been wiped off. Hyukjae watched Donghae out of the corner of his eyes as Donghae wiped his hands with a new cloth and his side of the screens down before wiping at Hyukjae’s bloody half-handprints still on his face.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“How have you planned for us to depart?” Donghae asked him, catching his eyes.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“South pole while stealthed,” he answered, continually checking the readouts.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“How does this thing work?” Samuel asked. Hyukjae glanced back to see he was talking to Zhou Mi and pointing at the weapons chair.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“One moment.” A pause and a thud had Hyukjae smiling at the readouts, but there was another moment before he could hear the slide of clothing against the weapons chair. “Once you are seated, lean back fully to access the weaponry screens that will come up to arc over your eyes.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Digging his communicators out and peeling the patch off his throat, he shoved all of it into a pocket of his pants. His ears popped as the ship created a full air-tight seal against vacuum, and he rubbed his fingers just underneath his ears to get the pressure equalized. He triggered the stealthing, and both he and Donghae waited for a full minute to make sure that the ship had completely disappeared from visual sight and from any detectors on Qinyan that would warn the space controller of unauthorized ships in the atmosphere. Once assured of that, they had the thrusters gently lift them off the surface.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“They can’t see us can they?” Samuel asked, obviously curious. Hyukjae shook his head.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We are fully stealthed from view or emissions,” Donghae replied verbally.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“And we couldn’t have just stealthed in?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Heat shields override everything,” Hyukjae answered, knowing that Samuel was curious about how things worked so he could use them if needed. “The stealthing will turn off when coming down into atmosphere from the friction so the heat shields can come up and prevent the ship from lighting up like a giant fireball. We can use it going out but coming in everyone <em>has</em> to go through the space controller to prevent the planetary defenses from triggering, even around the poles where the magnetic fields get kind of wonky. That’s why we’re using the south pole as an exit vector.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah, okay,” Samuel said in understanding as they moved towards the south magnetic pole.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“They have obtained clearance,” Donghae told Hyukjae, who nodded, lifting them out of the atmosphere by following the magnetic field lines. Donghae brought the engines up to full power as Hyukjae navigated them out to the jump point further out into the system and away from the star. Out of sheer habit, they dropped the stealthing before jumping out of Qinyan’s system, headed to Five Spokes, a small and out of the way mining colony that had been abandoned for ages.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked over and up as Zhou Mi ruffled his hair.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Is the automatic pilot engaged?” Zhou Mi asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Initiating it now,” Donghae replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Go,” Zhou Mi said, his long hands shooing both of them. “But please return quickly.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Neither one of them needed to be told twice, and they shot out into the hallway. Donghae grabbed the waistband of Hyukjae’s pants, using it as leverage to drag him into the communications room and pushed him against the wall. Donghae paused only long enough to pull his communicators out of his ears and scrape the patch off his throat before slamming their mouths together, the adrenaline rush dropping right into their sex drives.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You are so beautiful when you fight and kill,” Donghae growled at him, his eyes still a glowing blue. “I wish I had been able to witness you slicing that officer’s dick off.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grinned and parted his legs enough for Donghae’s solid and muscular thigh to press against his cock, his own thigh giving Donghae something to grind against. “I wish I’d been able to give him a much more painful death than what he got,” he replied before he leaned forward and kissed Donghae deeply, their tongues sliding sensuously together as they ground against each other’s thighs. The smell of blood was still present, even as the ships’ internal cleaning robots were wiping the floor down and spraying whatever cleaner they used, spindly arms reaching up to wipe down the communications screens. Hyukjae moaned, frustrated that the grinding wasn’t getting either of them off fast enough. His fingers fumbled but finally got Donghae’s pants unbuttoned enough for him to let his hand dive down and circle Donghae’s hard dick.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae tipped his head back and moaned, his hips jerking forward into Hyukjae’s hand. Beautiful, gorgeous, absolutely captivating were a few words Hyukjae could use to describe the way Donghae looked in the dim light as Hyukjae stroked him slowly to begin with, only pausing enough to get a mouthful of spit onto his hand to make the slide easier with the precome leaking out of Donghae’s dick. It didn’t take him long to have Donghae leaning forward, bracing his arms on either side of Hyukjae’s head, gasping a little with each breath in and moaning on almost every exhale.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Come on,” he urged seductively. “Come all over my hand.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae moaned loudly as he came, shaking against Hyukjae and working his hips around while Hyukjae kept stroking him. He kept moving until Donghae hissed a little with overstimulation, pride at getting his lover off and bringing him down off the adrenaline high filling him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae took about five seconds to work through his orgasm before he was spinning them around, shoving Hyukjae carelessly against the communication console, the screens behind his upper shoulders and neck, bending his head down until his chin was resting on his chest. The angle was slightly uncomfortable, but it gave him a <em>fabulous</em> view of Donghae nearly ripping his pants down and sinking his mouth down onto Hyukjae’s dick. He could see one of the people he’d killed still slumped over in the chair out of the corner of his eye, and he giggled a little before moaning as he felt Donghae taking all of his dick into that talented mouth, swallowing around the head like it was the easiest thing in the world.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Grabbing Donghae’s hair, he shook on the next drop of Donghae’s mouth sent him right over the edge, his mind blanking out as Donghae sucked and licked his dick, swallowing everything in his mouth. At first, Hyukjae felt uncomfortable about Donghae sucking him off while only getting Hyukjae giving him a hand job in return, but he knew now that Donghae enjoyed the feel of Hyukjae’s fingers almost more than his mouth and only slightly less than being buried in Hyukjae’s body. Donghae had also told him that he could feel Hyukjae’s pleasure as he got blown and it pleased Donghae to give him oral.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You taste so good,” Donghae growled in his ear, helping Hyukjae start to come back down off of their intense high before kissing him deeply. Hyukjae hummed into Donghae’s mouth, his hips rocking up softly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“So do you,” Hyukjae returned as soon as they had parted for a breath of air. “I love the way you taste when you just swallowed my come.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae’s lips flattened upward into a smile as he pulled Hyukjae up off the screens and kissed him, their movements and feelings softer than the desperation of only a minute before.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The knock on the side of the wall startled the hell out of both of them, their hands reaching for anything they could use as a weapon.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hey, Zhou Mi wants to know if you’re able to pilot again,” Samuel called from out in the hallway, not even peeking around the door.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae giggled at the totally mundane in amongst all of the carnage around him and the sexual fulfillment within. “Yeah, we’ll be right there,” he called back.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae laughed softly as they kissed once more before pulling their pants up and straightening their clothes. Walking back onto the flight deck, he saw Samuel still in the weapons chair, his ears tinged a bright red. Flinging his arms around Zhou Mi’s back, he nuzzled his cheek into Zhou Mi’s hair. “Thanks,” he said. “We needed that.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi chuckled. “You both usually do,” he replied, leaning back into Hyukjae’s hug. “We will arrive at Five Spokes shortly,” he reported as Donghae dropped in his lap for a brief snuggle from both of them.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">They knew Zhou Mi needed to feel safe and hidden with a physical anchoring touch for him to be able to start to come down from the combat high and become mildly functional once more. Now that the bleeding raw edge of his own adrenaline had been blunted with a fast orgasm, he could start to help everyone else come down too. He felt Zhou Mi shake a couple of times as he started to physically and mentally relax, safe and secure as he was squished between Hyukjae and Donghae’s bodies. Zhou Mi wrapped one of his hands around Hyukjae’s and the other around one of Donghae’s hands, just breathing in each other’s space and connected to each other for a couple of minutes before the console started beeping at them.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi leaned forward, kissing Donghae’s lips softly before turning his head and kissing Hyukjae as well. “Thank you both,” he murmured.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You are well?” Donghae asked quietly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded. “I am well for the moment. We may all comfort each other after we have made plans.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae slid off Zhou Mi’s lap and dropped into the other piloting chair while Hyukjae slid back into the seat once Zhou Mi stood up.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hey Samuel, go ahead and lean back so you can see what the weapons screen looks like,” Hyukjae said over his shoulder.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Expecting trouble?” Samuel asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head. “Five Spokes is in an out of the way system and it’s been abandoned for a long time. It’s one of those places that everyone knows about but is barely used, so it’s a good trial run.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Got it,” Samuel replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Dropping out now,” Donghae said as the ship dropped right at the jump point.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ow, jeeze it’s a good thing I don’t get motion sickness,” Samuel said within three seconds.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh, shit, forgot to tell you – keep your eyes kind of unfocused to be able to take in the information without making your head spin.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What’s all the brown moving dots?” Samuel asked after a moment.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Those are inanimate or no power signs coming off of them,” Hyukjae explained as he unlocked his chair and spun it around, pulling one of his legs up to curl under him on the seat. “It’s brown because the screens themselves are in shades of green to us and inanimate things are tinged red, so it looks brown. Anything live or with a power sign is kind of tinged with blue, though Donghae tells me that it’s white to a lot of others, so it’ll look like it’s teal to us. Our eyes are actually really suited for weapons just because we see so many shades of green – well assuming someone isn’t colorblind – and we can spot things faster as they pop up.” He waited for Samuel to nod before continuing. “So, all those brown dots are the old mining asteroids in orbit. The weapons chair is directly hooked up to all weapons on a craft, though a flag ship will have more to give a larger field of fire. Whatever you stare at is what the weapons will point towards. The bright green arrow next to your left thumb is the actual firing mechanism while the readout on the right side can be used to keep track of anyone in a spacesuit either in the ship or doing EVA.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel leaned forward, rubbing at his eyes. “That’ll take some getting used to without giving myself a headache.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, it takes a few times before you get the hang of it, but once you do, it’s incredibly easy to use the chair as basically an extension of your body.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Twin and Song Qian should be arriving shortly if you wish to see what a power signature looks like,” Donghae added.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh yeah, good idea,” Samuel said as he leaned back. Since Hyukjae was looking at the back of the holographic screen, he saw the bright dot that represented their ship appearing at the jump point. “Damn you weren’t kidding, that is really teal. Hell, it almost looks like a piece of turquoise on here.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That’s because they just dropped out and the power signatures are at the max level, it’ll drop back down in a second,” Hyukjae told him. Spinning his chair back around, he locked it with his foot. “Let’s get these ships locked together and figure out what the hell we’re doing.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“<em>Andante</em>,” Song Qian’s voice floated out of the console.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It’s us,” Hyukjae replied back. “The system is clear and we’re in place for docking.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” Song Qian said. “Initiating docking.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The ship jarred only the slightest bit with a <em>clang</em> that echoed as their ship anchored itself to the bottom of their stolen ship and with a scrape of metal as their lower cargo ramp locked in, creating an easy access tunnel between the two ships.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi sighed gustily, pulling his facemask back on. “Hyukjae, will you please bring Song Qian and Doctor Zoe to the medical area? Donghae, please stay here and I ask Amber to remain in place as well.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded, and Hyukjae could recognize the slight tenseness of Donghae’s fingers. Standing up, Hyukjae pulled his facemask out of one of his pockets and slung it on, heading down a level on the secondary lift side. Opening the door, he wasn’t surprised to see Song Qian already there and looking extremely pissed off.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Is Zoe with you?” he asked quickly before she could storm into the ship.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“She is still with Five-One in the medical area,” she replied, barely keeping a cap on her temper.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Can you bring her? Zhou Mi wants to have you both meet him in the medical area. And you’re going to need your face masks, too.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian nodded sharply, turning back to return up the tunnel. Hyukjae sighed and pulled his face mask out of his pocket where he’d shoved it to put it back on. Within three minutes, both Song Qian and Zoe were walking down the ramp with their lower faces covered by their masks. Hyukjae jerked his head down the hall and led them both to the medical area, stepping over a body or two in the doorway.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Gross,” Zoe muttered. “This is a mess for any sort of sanitation,” she grumbled.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi was standing close by, just far enough to be out of earshot of the kids who were still strapped down and crying.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“<em>What the</em> –“ Zoe started, jerking forward, only to be held back my Zhou Mi’s arm.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“A moment, please,” he said, his voice a little unsteady.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Explain,” Song Qian snapped, her eyes narrowed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi took a deep breath in and looked over his shoulder for a second. “It is what the twins experienced during their genetic modifications,” he forced out.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae himself froze for a second, suddenly understanding why both Donghae and Amber had immediate panic attacks and exactly why Zhou Mi was so upset. He heard Zoe gasp, and the tension from Song Qian’s shoulders dropped.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You are certain?” she asked, her voice softer.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded. “Please understand why I could not speak of this before.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian sighed and then reached up, wrapping her arms around Zhou Mi’s neck and pressing their foreheads together. “I understand,” she replied quietly, with enough inflection to indicate she truly did understand why he withheld that bit of information, not wanting it to be broadcast by any means. “Can you determine any other information?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will have to look for schedules in the database,” Zhou Mi said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I recall some, but not all of the information, and I do not want either of the twins back in this area. Doctor Zoe, I ask that you have a time giver mark drawn in while assisting the children, it will be more familiar to them to understand what is happening and your role.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe nodded. “Yeah I can do that. Do you need a pen or something?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will get my pencil,” Song Qian said, shaking her head a fraction. “I will also return with Five-One so that she may rejoin her brother promptly.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You grab what you need to, I’ll get Five-One,” Zoe replied. “We probably need to get that drawn on before any of the other kids see me.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You are correct,” Song Qian agreed. “We will return quickly.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi sighed. “Let us look for information,” he told Hyukjae, who was still frozen in place.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae started but got ahold of himself quickly. “Right.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Children, I ask that you remain calm for only a short while longer. Our time givers will return quickly to assist you out of your bonds and will check your health,” Zhou Mi assured the kids as he and Hyukjae walked over to the display panels.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">It was absolute hell having to listen to the sniffles and shaky breathing for Hyukjae, but he knew that the kids had been absolutely traumatized enough and they needed to see people who in their eyes were safe for them to start to move out of the fear. His eyes flickered over the readouts, mentally filing away bits of information for later. The torture that had knocked his mind sideways had also seemingly unlocked an ability for him to quickly look at and memorize written information within seconds. Flipping to the next screen, he saw what looked like data charts.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I think I found something,” he told Zhou Mi quietly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi leaned over and then nodded. “Yes, those are the schedules we need to review.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae tapped the screen, expanding the file out across all of the screens. “Twenty-five groups of kids, right?” he asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes. It appears that they are arranged into six larger groups, all of which correspond to how advanced their treatments are,” Zhou Mi explained as Song Qian and Zoe swept back in. Hyukjae looked up at the louder sobs and saw Five-One climbing up onto a bed where a young boy was still strapped down, trying to shush him, but tears leaking out of her eyes. Hyukjae suddenly made the connection that the little boy was probably her brother.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked back at the readouts and grimaced, his eyes nearly crossing at the raft of biological and genetic information coming up. “Can you make sense of that?” he asked Zhou Mi as Song Qian and Zoe helped each strapped down kid sit back up before circling back through to do a quick triage.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It is familiar, but I will need the assistance of Song Qian and Doctor Zoe to fully comprehend what the data says in regards for how each treatment has proceeded. It does look similar to what I recall for the twins, but some things appear to have been altered and I am not aware what purpose it serves, or if it is merely my memory failing at recalling it exactly.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Is the command line still there?” he whispered, almost terrified of the implications.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Almost certainly. I do recall that it is embedded deeply into the genetic codes, so deeply it would be impossible to remove it, as is the recognition of the psychic marker.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Well fuck,” Hyukjae muttered, running a tongue over his teeth. “What are the odds that a kid with the same genetic modifications as the twins tries to rob my sister in a place she shouldn’t have ever been and gets caught by us when we’ve been doing nothing but running for two cycles and went to Qinyan even though there were other options available?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi gave him a droll look. “Almost the same odds as you being placed on the same prison vessel we were being detained on when you were in a location you should not have been at and there were other vessels available and by all rights, the acting captain of the <em>Rycan</em> should have passed judgement on you rather than sending you to an administrator.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Okay good point,” Hyukjae conceded with a nod.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It must have been imperative that we come into contact with these children right now,” Zhou Mi continued with the shrug of a shoulder. “The ancestors brought you to us, they must have brought your people and these children to us for a reason as well.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. The odds and coincidences were just far too much to really comprehend, and it was much easier to just chalk it up to fate and ancestors nudging people to where they needed to be. They just needed to check the angles to see what the purpose was and continue along.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Jai,” Song Qian said, making Hyukjae’s head jerk up. “I need your assistance to return the children to the prison level to rejoin the others. They are in pain and we will not force them to make the journey on their own.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Who would you like me to begin with?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian looked around, Zoe still trying to soothe a girl who couldn’t stop crying. “Please assist Five.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will begin transferring the information so that we may look over this with the luxury of time,” Zhou Mi told him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">His heart ached at the involuntary flinch Five-One had, but he tilted his head a little, keeping his hands in view. “My Elder Sister did inform you that none of us are angry, correct?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One’s eyes widened. “Y-your Elder Sister?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded, relieved that some of the inherent tension that surrounded the kid started to drain away. He’d have to thank Sora for her quick work in charming Five-One.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Will you allow me to assist in carrying your brother back down?” he asked her softly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One bit her lips, but finally nodded.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I need to lift you out of the bed so that I may carry you down,” he told Five-Two quietly. The boy couldn’t be any more than five or six years old, which would make carrying him easier. Hyukjae wrapped his hands under Five-Two’s back and pulled him up off the bed, perching the boy on his hip just the way he’d carried a few of his younger cousins.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-Two whimpered, and Hyukjae ran his hand up and down his back, caressing the long, soft hair at the base of the skull. “I know, you are in pain,” he soothed. “Take a deep breath to attempt to settle it. I will not move for a moment.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He stayed still until he felt Five-Two’s breathing become easier before he held out his free hand to Five-One to take. “We will depart for the prison level now,” he said to Song Qian, who nodded, her hair spilling over her shoulder.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He didn’t even have to tug on Five-One’s hand to have her coming along and dodging the dead bodies still on the floor, but he shortened his stride for the girl’s much shorter legs. Leading the way to the secondary lift, he glanced down to see Five-One looking at him, then ducking her eyes. “You may ask questions if you have them,” he told her. “I will answer to the best of my ability.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Lady Sora is very kind,” Five-One whispered, her voice almost lost in the noise of the lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“She is,” he agreed, nodding. “Her care for others is something I have always admired about my Elder Sister. I hope that she was able to relieve you of some of your concerns.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One smiled a little and nodded, her hand relaxing in Hyukjae’s as they stopped at the prison level. He sighed at the guards at the entrance that had almost been blown to pieces. “Which cell is yours?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One pointed down the hall and towards the left.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“So one, two, three?” he asked, tilting his head from left to right then back to the left as he asked about the numbering of the cells.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One nodded, not daring to break the silence that had fallen across the entire level at his appearance. He only let go of her hand to open the cell door, unsurprised to see only a bare sleeping pad on the floor. It was all he’d been given as well. Kneeling down on the pad, he tried to set Five-Two down as gently as he could, but the boy still couldn’t stop a gasp of pain.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Rest,” he urged. “You will not come to harm and sleep will assist your healing.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One curled up on the sleeping pad beside her brother, softly stroking the skin of his arm as Hyukjae got up.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I must lock the door to assure your safety for the moment, but we will return shortly to move you to other accommodations,” he told them, his voice echoing a bit down the hall.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One nodded and Hyukjae stepped out of the small cell to trigger the door closed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He pulled up short near the exit as Samuel walked in carrying young girl bridal style. Hyukjae guessed that she couldn’t be more than twelve years old, if even that. “Twenty-Three?” he asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Second cell from here on the left. They are in sequential order,” he replied, bouncing his hand from side to side.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Got it,” Samuel rumbled, a thumb rubbing the girl’s arm as she drew in shaky breaths against Samuel’s chest.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will open the door for you,” he told Samuel, his voice indicating that it was more of a demonstration to how to open the cell doors than of assistance. Tapping three fingers against the panel along the white band in the center, the color switched to red as the door smoothly opened upwards. He waited for Samuel to place the girl gently down on the sleeping pad that was wide enough to accommodate all three siblings, the boy being held in place by his sister as he struggled a little, both of them obviously older than the youngest sibling. The girl holding her brother back looked to be about the same age, and both of them definitely more than few years older than the one that was just brought back down. She kept a firm hold on her brother, her hand covering his mouth. Hyukjae kept a close watch on the boy as Samuel walked back out of the cell, and he didn’t really breathe easy until he had locked the door behind Samuel.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“In case there’s a hull breach, the cells can create their own temporary life support as long as the door’s locked,” he told Samuel once they were on the lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah, okay. What was that kid’s problem?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “No clue. Is it just us carting the kids back down?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, Zhou Mi’s still working on the data, the twins are staying where they are, and Chullie’s still baking under that healing thing for his arm. I know that the doc and Song Qian are strong enough to probably carry them down, but I wasn’t doing anything, so might as well help.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head and sighed, knowing how close of a call Seungchul had. “He got lucky that he was only grazed. A full shot would have probably taken his arm off.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You know, I thought these were nasty, but I didn’t know <em>how</em> nasty until I took most of that pilot’s head off,” Samuel muttered as they walked back into the medical area.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Who is next?” Hyukjae asked Song Qian.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Six-Three and Sixteen-Two,” she replied, pointing at the two indicated.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae saw that they were both older and while he could carry someone for a while in his arms, it was really tiring for him to do so. “Place your arms over my shoulders so that I may carry you easily, child,” he told the girl who Song Qian had called Sixteen-Two as he spun around.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Her weight was practically <em>nothing</em> as he got her on his back, supporting her weight with his hands under her thighs. She didn’t make a sound even though he could feel her breathing quickly against his neck. Transporting the two girls back down to the prison level and reuniting them with their siblings, both he and Samuel made the trip twice more to get everyone that was in the medical area.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">By the time they returned from their last trip, Song Qian was standing in the middle of the medical area, her hands on her hips as she waited for the schedule and the basic treatment information to be downloaded into a portable projector. Neither Zoe nor Zhou Mi was still there.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Are all the kids back?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian nodded. “I sent Doctor Zoe to retrieve the one in the officer quarters and to bring her back to the prison level. She has a good aptitude for soothing trauma – better than my own,” she finished ruefully. “If you will please retrieve Donghae from the flight deck, we will convene in our crew area to discuss our next steps.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae and Samuel nodded, spinning back out and heading towards the main lift that went up to the flight deck. He paused and blinked when the lift opened but couldn’t stop the smile as he saw Donghae.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hey,” he greeted. “You guessed?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae shook his head, his eyes crinkled in amusement. “Twin contacted me to inform me of our upcoming meeting. I have transferred nominal control of this ship to ours and once we close our hatch, the children will be safely locked here.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The lift stopped one floor down, the door opening to show Zoe with her arm around the shivering, small form Hyukjae remembered from the officer quarters. Standing up, the girl looked even smaller and younger in her somewhat worn clothes, and while she shifted closer to Zoe, she didn’t show any other outward reaction.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“She is the last to be taken down?” Hyukjae asked, hoping that the girl remembered his voice and associated it with help.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe nodded. “We can wait.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shifted back, giving them a clear open space to walk through into the lift as Donghae pressed himself against the wall, Samuel following suit as soon as Donghae motioned him to do so. “Let us return her to her sibling quickly,” he said. “We must discuss our own business.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe hesitated a second but followed the girl into the lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What is your designation, child?” Hyukjae asked quietly as the lift went down to the prison level.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Four-One,” she quietly replied, her eyes trained on the floor.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We will return quickly,” he told Donghae and Samuel as the lift doors opened at the prison level, his hands motioning Zoe and Four-One out. Leading both nearly to the back of the hall, he opened the cell door and stepped off to the side, giving the girl a wide berth to reenter the cell. It hurt to watch Four-One nearly collapse into the arms of her sister, Zoe carefully helping her down onto the sleeping pad before standing up and rejoining Hyukjae as he waved his fingers at her.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Rest, children,” he said as he relocked the door. “We will return to you shortly.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hustling Zoe back onto the lift, he sighed, leaning into Donghae’s comfort and pulled his face mask off. “If we ever have to do that again, it’s going to be too fucking soon,” he grumbled.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe was massaging the back of her neck. “Good job on that guy,” she finally said as they walked off the lift and back down the tunnel to their ship.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel shrugged. “Not exactly something I’m proud of. I kind of lost it when Amber told us what was going on.” He shook his head. “Uncle mode activated,” he said, almost jokingly as he tugged his face mask off.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe laughed softly, making Hyukjae relax as well. He was half worried that something like this would send her closer to a break down, but she seemed to be holding up well.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Out of curiosity, why do you keep calling the kids <em>child</em>?” Samuel asked as they walked towards the lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It’s my way of letting them know that I see them as a person and not a thing, but also an assurance that there’s absolutely nothing sexual with anything I do when I’m around them,” Hyukjae explained. “I know I’m not going to do anything to them, but they don’t. Calling them <em>child</em> is a way to assure them of that.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“So that shit happens a lot?” Samuel asked, looking more than a little murderous.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae shrugged. “It is not a constant, but it is common enough to be known. We have now removed the children from the threat of any further insults.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. God's Menu</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>smut, same warnings as last chapter (just discussed, nothing too explicit)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hyukjae’s stomach growled as the smell of food drifted down the hall from the crew area and they all walked a little faster to get to it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Go wash your hands,” Deokbon said firmly as they walked in, her voice making all of them immediately divert over to the sink where a small air cleaner was installed. Hyukjae winced as his mother cuffed him on the back of his head as he passed back by.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ow,” he complained, pouting as he sat down. “What was that for?” he whined.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t do anything like that again without telling us,” Deokbon replied archly as she sat down next to Kanghun.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Didn’t want you to worry,” Hyukjae said as he grabbed some utensils and stuffed his mouth full of food to prevent his family asking further questions he didn’t really want to answer as Song Qian sat down in a chair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber and Donghae were both quiet as they ate on either side of him. Everyone was a little subdued as they ate, their minds obviously rolling over the past few hours to try and absorb it. As the hungry bites started to slow down, the admiral leaned back in his chair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sit rep?” he asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sixty kids alive, rescued, and accounted for,” Samuel replied. “I don’t know why eight of them were strapped down to beds in med, though.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They were receiving the same genetic treatments that Twin and I were given,” Amber replied, her voice calm even as her eyes glowed, her fingers tracing the rim of her cup. “The treatments are painful, so they were held down to stop an excess of movement.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aw <em>fuck</em>,” Seungchul said into the silence, burying his head in his hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Jesus Christ,” Zoe muttered, one of her fingers rubbing the side of her temple.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sora looked at Hyukjae, raising her eyebrows. “Any issues I had before with you all killing everyone, I’m over it,” she said, her voice brittle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wouldn’t they have just used one of those immobilizer things though?” Samuel asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, those would prevent all movement of the body at certain locations,” Donghae said. “In case of vomiting, they would need to be able to turn them quickly to prevent them from choking on it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How are you certain it’s the same ones you have?” Alex asked Amber.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The former captain of the vessel was known to me,” Zhou Mi replied. “His clan was married into my own two Emperor’s reigns ago, and with the data we have recovered, it is with confidence that we may assume that the children were being given the same genetic modifications that Amber and Donghae were given. Zhou Li would not want an experiment such as this to be revealed to anyone outside of the Zhou clan.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What would be the chances of this being a plant to catch you?” the admiral asked Hyukjae, his fingers drumming on the table.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The odds of this being a potential trap are too high to really even bother mentioning from all the variables,” Hyukjae said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The ancestors brought us Hyukjae, so they must also have a reason for bringing these children to us immediately after we are once again able to help others,” Zhou Mi added, shrugging his shoulders. “Though it does bring us to the issues we need to discuss. I remember only partially the information I attempted to destroy as I freed the twins, and while this does look similar to what I remember, it is not exactly as I recall. I am unsure if it is due to actual changes or simply a mistake in my memories,” he explained as he set down the portable projector Song Qian handed him in the center of the table. He paused, looking over at Amber and Donghae.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber nodded. “We are well and in the present,” she assured him. “Our memories hold required information to assist the children.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi nodded, turning the projector on. Hyukjae saw the projection shoot out four sides, repeating the information so that all could view it comfortably. The data of the schedules scrolled up on the lower third while the genetic and biological data took up the top two thirds. “This is the basic information that was in the database. Further details are coded in the logs.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can I move this around like the big table upstairs?” Zoe asked, her eyes narrowing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, simply touch the air near the part you wish to inspect,” Zhou Mi replied. “The children are separated into six larger groups, all of which correspond, I believe, to their level of treatments.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hold on,” Zoe murmured, her fingers flicking through the projection for a minute. “If this information is about what they’re getting in accordance with the schedules, it looks like only Group One has something significantly different from the other groups. Groups Two through Six all have something that’s similar to each other. Do you know why that is?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How are you able to discern that so quickly?” Song Qian asked curiously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zoe shrugged and pointed at five columns of data that made no sense to Hyukjae. “Here, here, here, here, and here are all the same in those five groups. Group One doesn’t have any of those.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi nodded. “Those are likely the foundation treatments to prepare their bodies for the acceptance of the modifications.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, this is a two-step process, do the foundations first, then the modifications?” Zoe asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay, is there a way to tell if the foundations are complete?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes,” Donghae answered. “The foundation treatment would appear complete on a genetic scan and there would not be as much pain if administered a foundational treatment.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Great, the only way to tell if it’s working is if you’re in pain,” Zoe growled, shaking her head. “That’s just fucking <em>wonderful</em>,” she added sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “So I’m also going to guess that the modifications are nothing but Pain City.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, they are extremely painful,” Amber answered. “Though if Group One has started the modifications, they will need to continue them until such a time as they are either complete as I am or only missing the last treatment like Twin. If they are still on the foundations, it will not harm them to cease where they are.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Couldn’t it be that Group One is the only one not on the modifications?” Kanghun asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber shook her head almost immediately. “They would not wish to have that number of modified children to keep control of, and it would be risky for them to be used as child-thieves in case of capture. Group One being the only ones on the modifications is the most likely scenario.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We recall that when the modifications began, the treatments came quickly, far faster than the foundations,” Donghae added. “After the first modification, our senses began to cause us many issues as we were bombarded with input on both a physical and psychic level. We felt as if we were losing our sanity, unable to filter our thoughts from the thoughts of others.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi shook his head. “That is information I did not have.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I wonder if that has been accommodated,” Song Qian added. “Five-One did not seem to have many issues, but she and Five-Two are in the first group.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Her thoughts are very turbulent,” Amber said. “I had believed that they were merely fearful with the addition of something I could not name, but this information supplies it. It is shocking what one can accomplish if there is a focus of saving a sibling’s life, and she has not even begun to reach her Time of Change. That is possibly why she is calmer than either Twin or I were.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hm, Twenty-Three is in that same group,” Samuel commented. “I wonder if that’s why that kid was ready to fight anything and everything.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae caught the look Amber shot to Donghae.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae tilted his head at Samuel. “Which one in Twenty-Three?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It was the boy; don’t know what order they’re going in.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae flipped his fingers through the projection. “Twenty-Three-Two, the middle sibling,” he said, his eyes scanning across the data. “His borderline violent reaction is understandable. I was only slightly older than he is now when our treatments began, and I had many violent impulses at the time from hormonal changes and the bizarre sensory issues. He will start to calm as the treatments near completion and he is able to filter his thoughts from others.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What options do those kids have?” Kanghun asked, rubbing his chin in thought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Group One is extremely limited in their choices now, but the other children would be able to choose if they wished to be reunited with their birth family, if they wish to be adopted into a tribute colony, or if they wish to be accepted into the brothels,” Zhou Mi replied.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Brothels</em>?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae waved a hand. “<em>Not</em> brothels like you’re thinking of,” he quickly explained before anyone lost their cool and thought that the kids were just going to be shuffled into sex trafficking. “The brothels out here are the public side of the Houses where the kids can be accepted in under sanctuary to learn trade skills or to begin formal education, kind of like a boarding school mixed with a church. I have no idea why they’re called brothels, but that’s what they’re called,” he finished, seeing everyone relaxing at his explanation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“As long we are able to get the children to the brothel and have them ask for sanctuary, it will be given to them with no hesitation. If one seeks sanctuary, it is understood that as they move through life, they assist others who have sought the same via sponsorship,” Song Qian added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, like the people you have to sponsor?” Zoe asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian nodded. “We merely need to get the children to a House, and they will be accepted and given free names to use for the remainder of their lives along with education.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, what’s a tribute colony then?” the admiral asked Zhou Mi.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It is a colony of people who have been released from tribute status through people such as ourselves. Those colonies do not officially exist and are close secrets until at least three generations from the founders have passed on and move with the ancestors. The colony will then seek to become a recognized world as no one will remember the founders or their previous owners. All newcomers must be brought in by someone the world trusts and after a trial period to ensure that they are able to cope with the agricultural work and solitary lifestyle, they will be adopted into families and dispersed through the colony.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And you know some?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi nodded. “There are two where we personally freed the founders of that colony. Any one of the children would be welcomed gladly if they are able to do the work required and are able to cope with the solitude.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, we give the kids their options, drop them off where they want to be, then back to Earth?” the admiral asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex shook her head. “Can’t. We already agreed to do some cargo runs for Cheng Bao right before this happened, and we’re on a time limit for it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The admiral scowled a little. “I would appreciate having things like that brought up for discussion.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex shrugged, entirely unfazed. “It’s their lives out there. If Zhou Mi found it worthy enough to bring up to me in the first place, then it’s a good idea to go along with it if he okays it. It’ll help them to get going again, especially if this is what they do. That was an unexpected diversion to rescue the kids.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What’s his setup for the runs?” Hyukjae asked. “I was trying to keep up with noona to get some <em>chipal</em> and then holding onto Five-One so I kind of missed that entire discussion.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We will need to reconnect to the Imperial networks to communicate with Cheng Bao. He wishes us to perform multiple runs for supplies, parts, and equipment, and then the weapons either partially or in full,” Zhou Mi told him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, that setup again, okay,” Hyukjae muttered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Weapons</em>?” Deokbon asked, aghast.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes. We believe that Cheng Bao represents a disaffection faction that is preparing for the change of Mandate, potentially to overturn a minor planetary governor or possibly Li Chen, as he was being observed by Li Chen’s forces, but we are uncertain if that is his true intention,” Donghae explained.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And this is extremely illegal isn’t it?” Kanghun asked Hyukjae.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The first runs, no. That’s probably just moving random pieces of equipment and supplies that can be used for multiple things that we have to deliver within a set timeframe to prove that we’re trustworthy. Anyone who would be working against them would get caught up in bureaucratic tape to get authorizations, even for just the minor stuff, and miss the delivery deadline. The actual weapons run itself is absolutely illegal.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So how are we going to deal with all of that along with getting those kids where they need to be?” the admiral asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You got on board with that fast,” Sora commented.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The admiral shrugged. “Not my boat and decisions were made without me, so go along with it with speed so we can get back home before the next century.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Good point,” Sora conceded. “What’s our first stop?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shina,” Donghae said. “Once we have loaded the required items, we are to convene with Cheng Bao at Ba-sing’s jump point.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae hummed, immediately recalling the dusty, windy moon in a tidally locked orbit around a large rocky planet close in towards the star. “Gloves, masks, hats, coats,” he murmured, building a list in his mind. “What’s our time limit?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Half of one <em>farn</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae rolled his eyes. “Well he doesn’t want much,” he muttered sarcastically. He detested half-<em>farn</em> runs with every fiber of his being.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What’s the travel time and risk assessment?” the admiral asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shina is about half of one standard from Five Spokes, but Ba-sing is over three standards from Shina. It is mostly minimal risk as the first runs will only be for innocuous items that anyone would want and the goods have already been paid for,” Amber explained. “We merely arrive, show our credentials or identification of who we are working for, load the cargo, and leave.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Who’s going down?” Hyukjae asked, idly tapping his fingers on the table.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber tapped her fingers on the rim of her cup. “I will take you along with Alex and Samuel in the cargo runner down to Shina. The risk is only slight, but we should arrive at Shina’s outer jump point and maintain our position with both ships there. Song Qian, you and Doctor Zoe should begin moving through the children and inquiring where they wish to be placed as soon as we have jumped.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae expected that Amber would divide he and Donghae up like that, but he still had to get himself over his own disappointment, and he caught Donghae’s quick frown out of the corner of his eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A moment,” Song Qian said. “As we all know that we cannot keep the other ship for ourselves, I would like to transfer it to my House to compensate for the arrival of possibly fifty or more children into the brothel.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A wise decision,” Zhou Mi answered, nodding.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Twin and I agree,” Amber added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sure, we can drop it off at the brothel at the same time as the kids,” Hyukjae agreed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian nodded. “Hyukjae, once you have reconnected the communications, I will inform my House when we arrive at Shina. We will also need to dispose of the bodies and decide where to move the children from the prison level so they can begin to be accustomed to free life.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Perhaps the regular crew level?” Donghae asked. “There should be sufficient space for them to be housed with their siblings in separate rooms as they are now, but with more room and better air quality.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, the air pressure was barely at seventy percent and the air circulation was about half of normal when I started the ship. I kicked both settings back up to full, but it’ll take a while for the air down there to clear out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi leaned back in his chair. “We should clear the crew area first, so that Song Qian and Doctor Zoe have space for each larger group. We also need to separate Group One from the others, but not in a way that would alarm them, so they have the least disturbance to their thoughts and are able to make clear decisions.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How about we bring them up by their larger groups? We can start with Group Six and work our way up,” Zoe said as she flipped through the data, her eyes flickering across the information. “It’ll get Group One separated out from the others without seeming like you’re targeting them and give them time to settle down. Is there a good place for them to stay that’s <em>not</em> the med bay? Or are we going to put them on the regular crew level too?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber reached out, her fingers scrolling through the data. “There are only four sibling groups in Group One. As they need to finish the treatments, it would be most prudent to move them into the officer quarters, avoiding the two middle cabins so as to give them appropriate space for their thoughts. We will keep them there until we have met with Cheng Bao the first time, and then we will move them into our own ship so that they may finish their treatments.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi hummed. “When we stop at the House after we know of our next destination, I would like to send a messenger to both Wang Fei and to my maternal cousin, Meng Jia. They provided hospitality to the twins when I first freed them, so they are more familiar with the genetic modifications. If they are able to do so, it would be safe for the Group One children to live under their protection and care.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can’t you just shoot them a message from the ship?” Seungchul asked, obviously confused.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi shook his head. “I am always cautious in attempting to contact either of them, especially Jia. Zhou Li would not hesitate to eliminate her as a threat or to attempt to use her as bait if he knew of any connection between us. I do not wish to bring any further danger to her – she already courts enough of Zhou Li’s ire by providing hospitality to my mother after my exile. Though she is well-established as a planetary governor, it would not be enough to prevent Zhou Li from taking action against her if he felt she was associated with me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex huffed a little as she pulled out her notebook and pen, hastily scribbling down a few notes. “I take it that since she opened her home to the twins that she doesn’t like the idea of slavery?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi nodded once. “When she first achieved being a planetary governor, she abolished all tribute on her world and any worlds that she gains. She is unable to completely eliminate servitude in any form at the risk of sparking a large rebellion against her governorship, but she has survived the few rebellions that did occur with the nullification of tribute.” He jerked a shoulder in a shrug. “Though she is unable to abolish all servitude, she has been working on providing more enforcement for ensuring slaves are getting proper payments for the purchase of their freedom if their owners do not free them before their contract time has expired. When I last contacted her, she was still struggling with the startling number of tributes that still required assistance.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex shrugged. “At least it’s something instead of nothing,” she said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s pretty philosophical,” the admiral commented, looking a little surprised.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It sounds like the same choice these guys have to make all the time,” Alex said, waving her pen vaguely around. “And it’s not enviable. Do you help the people with some choices or the people with no choices? How many systems does Meng Jia have?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Seven,” Zhou Mi said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Seven planetary systems, and even if the population is insignificant compared to Earth’s, that’s a <em>lot</em> of people who have been helped by just eliminating tribute. These guys can only help a few people at a time, but we’re talking potentially millions that Meng Jia can help all at once,” Alex pointed out. “I understand what she’s having to do from a political and diplomatic standpoint, since if she abolished all slavery, there would be a chance that she could be tossed out by a rebellion and the next person in would probably reestablish slavery <em>and</em> tribute. While I wish she <em>could</em> abolish it, I also understand why she <em>can’t</em> at this point in time, especially with Zhou Li also breathing down her neck.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hm, good point.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But it sounds like she also ran head first into the exact same issue that the US did after the Civil War when slavery was abolished – a lot of people suddenly supposedly being free but having absolutely nothing to help them integrate into society. And I’m guessing just like in the US, there are some sections that don’t want former tributes to be in their society at all,” Alex continued.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, that was a major issue for her for some time and I am unaware if she has been able to fully correct it,” Zhou Mi said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex nodded, scribbling down a few more notes and occasionally biting on her pen cap.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How long will the treatments take to complete?” Zhou Mi asked Song Qian.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nearly one <em>li fan</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae blinked. “That long?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How long is that?” Samuel asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Uh, it’s something right around a month,” Hyukjae explained quickly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“From this data, all of Group One looks to have at least ten treatments left, if not more, and as I wish for them to be asleep for the treatments to spare them the worst of the pain, I am only comfortable administering a treatments every other <em>farn</em>. For the three younger children that have not reached their Time of Change, I want the sleeping medicine completely out of their bodies for a full <em>farn</em> before giving it again. Hyukjae, we will need all of the medical data transferred onto our ship, even if it is coded so that I am assured of the knowledge of previous treatments and health.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae stretched and yawned. “I’ll start the data transfer to our ship when after I get us reconnected to the network.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Doctor Zoe and I will take food cubes up to the prison level and perform a quick health check as soon as we have jumped,” Song Qian added. “It will also allow us the time to inform the children of which larger group they are placed in and in what order we will bring them to the crew area for a more thorough health exam. Amber, Donghae, what do you recall of eating after treatments?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber grimaced. “I am uncertain if they were starved as we were before a treatment, but food cubes will not cause a nauseous reaction so they would be able to eat until their hunger subsides. Most of them have probably not eaten in some time.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“While we are disposing of the bodies, we should search all quarters and cargo areas for useful items,” Donghae said. “Will your House be resentful if the ship’s data is wiped?” he asked Song Qian.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She shook her head. “The House would have to perform that function before it would be sold.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae sighed. “Okay, I’m going to go down and reconnect into the Imperial networks on this ship and start the data transfers before helping out with cleanup.” He paused. “Would the House also have to go through and wipe out everything physically too?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian nodded. “Resold ships would need to be thoroughly cleaned to ensure there is nothing that would potentially harm the buyers.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Then we should give them a head start on that and just take everything that isn’t a part of the ship.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That is a wise decision, as the children were also being used as thieves, there will be many stolen goods we would be able to use as barter,” Donghae said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian pursed her lips. “I have some concerns about taking everything, as it would be less for the House to have to lighten the strain from so many seeking sanctuary.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah but would your House be able to trade the stolen goods without raising an alarm?” Hyukjae pointed out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“As a compromise, let us take everything from the ship but we will set aside a portion of our trades and credits to transfer to your House to compensate them a short time later,” Zhou Mi said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian nodded. “That is an acceptable compromise. Hyukjae?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sounds good to me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What are you guys going to do with all the bodies?” Samuel asked curiously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae snorted derisively. “Let’s just shove them out of an airlock at a jump point or something. Don’t even give them half of the dignity of being incinerated by a star, those fuckers can just float in the void for all eternity.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I will get a sled for that purpose as soon as the automatic pilot is engaged,” Zhou Mi said. “Amber will you pilot?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber nodded. “I will remain on the flight deck for emergencies. Everyone else should go to the other ship and those that are able to do so should begin collecting the bodies.” Amber’s eyes flickered for a brief instant around the table. “Admiral, I will ask that you and Eonnie begin the process of obtaining all items from the officer quarters while the crew level is beginning to be cleaned.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae smiled a bit at Sora’s sigh of relief.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Little grossed out about the bodies?” the admiral asked Sora.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“More freaked out… just…” Sora shivered with a grimace.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Uh, you might want to avoid the middle cabin on the… right side?” Hyukjae nodded at Samuel’s questioning look. “I don’t know, maybe the left if you’re coming in from the other direction? Oh hell, just avoid the middle ones. At least until we get what’s left of that guy out, because Chullie and I made a little bit of a mess.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why?” the admiral drawled out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You didn’t hear?” Samuel asked, confused.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ms Nelson and I were basically bystanders and only really able to keep an eye on things around this ship while Song Qian directed you all around since there weren’t enough of your specialized comms. We could only get bits of context.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Samuel blew his breath out, grimacing at Seungchul.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That misbegotten shitstain was raping one of the girls when we got to him,” Seungchul snarled. “Beating him to death was too good, but we had to rush through to get down to the cargo hold.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m even more over those issues,” Sora muttered, her mouth turned down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Seungchul snorted. “Well your brother is the one that sliced his dick off, so take some comfort in that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Why</em>?” Sora demanded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae shrugged. “He’d hooked up a cock ring to an immobilizer field. She couldn’t move anything aside from her eyes until he was done, and I didn’t want the field to not turn off because the ring was too far away from the controller. Probably unnecessary, but it was a reasonable precaution to take.” He paused, smiling a little into his cup. “And it was satisfying,” he added, unable to really stop himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Father, Mother, I ask that you both go through the cargo holds to get a manifest of what is on board,” Amber continued. “There should be a small office off the smaller hold that will have the physical copies of all items, as they would not want stolen items being officially registered in the data. If you are also able to find the location of all items the children thieved, it would be beneficial to begin gathering that. Once the bodies have been removed, sweep through the crew level with everyone to collect all items beyond what the children will need for their comfort while sleeping. We should arrive at a House quickly after we meet with Cheng Bao and receive our next destination so that the children are protected from knowing our identities.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“All right give me a little time to get reconnected into the network, and then we can take off,” Hyukjae said as he stood up. “I’ll initiate the data transfers once we’re moving.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A short nod from Amber was all it took for Hyukjae to walk out of the crew area and get down to their communications room. Sliding under the console, he tapped the work light installed on the inside panels to let him see.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Third, U, five,” he muttered under his breath, his fingers tracing the paths of power streams. “Okay got you. Now to find the connection again,” he grumbled to himself as he kept one finger on the steady white power stream. Disconnecting the ship from the Imperial network had seemed like a good idea at the time, as none of them knew how or why they were being found so quickly. “Aha, there you are,” he said to a bright yellow stream. Running his fingers firmly across the panel, he dragged the yellow stream to reconnect into their communication system’s power stream.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nearly instantly, the console above him shouted itself back into life with jumbled words, static, pings of notices, and the clangs of directed messages.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh my God <em>shut up</em>,” he yelled, throwing his arm up to slam his hand against the console in a vain attempt to at least reduce the volume before something blew his eardrums out. Turning the light off, he replaced the panel and crawled back out from under the console. The damned thing was <em>still</em> churning out a cacophony of noise, and he finally swiped his hand across the console to kill the noise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fuck’s sake, one at a time,” he growled at the console. Looking up at the screens, he saw that reconnecting to the network had automatically initiated a download from the beacon at Five Spokes’ jump point. He must have left that setting on when he disconnected it, and as soon as it was reconnected, it immediately did what it was supposed to do.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Waving away all of the notices, he also canceled the initiation prompt for entertainment downloads and Imperial bulletins. They could pull those back on when they weren’t pressed for time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He pulled up the directed messages, most of them still propagating as the network pulled in every message since the last download for every single ship identity they had. He sighed as he watched them load in slowly. Most of them could be ignored, but one message had him chewing on his lower lip.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was from Mark, sent nearly a full cycle previously and directed to their <em>Andante</em> identity – which Mark’s code breakers had actually spliced into the Imperial networks and registries. Though it read almost like a business request, Hyukjae could clearly interpret the request for them to get back in contact with Mark as soon as possible. That in itself was odd – as far as Hyukjae knew, Mark didn’t involve himself in much, simply being a broker between two parties, and for him to request a contact meant something rather drastic was going on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He looked over his shoulder as he sensed someone at the door, and he gave Donghae a smile. “Hey,” he greeted. “How much time?” he asked with a smirk as soon as he saw the bottle in Donghae’s hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Just enough,” Donghae growled, sliding the door shut and pulling Hyukjae up out of the chair. Hyukjae moaned into Donghae’s mouth, the intense relief that they were both alive and unhurt after combat and not having fully come down yet had him rutting his hips forwards. Stripping their clothes just enough, Hyukjae gave Donghae a kiss before spinning him around and pushing him towards the console. Lightly biting Donghae’s neck, he murmured a few words here and there, telling Donghae how beautiful he was, how sexy, how much Hyukjae loved him as he soaked a couple of fingers in the lubricant and pushed them slowly and firmly into Donghae’s ass. Already Donghae’s dick was leaking precome, their quick orgasms on the way to Five Spokes not entirely enough to satiate their libidos. Hyukjae dropped his other hand, running a finger softly over the slit and making Donghae moan as Hyukjae spread his fingers. As soon as Donghae began rolling his hips, Hyukjae slipped another finger in, biting at Donghae’s neck just a little harder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Come on,” Donghae growled, arching his back to push his hips back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae knew they were pressed for time, and he moved as fast as he felt comfortable while also moving quickly due to time constraints. Finally, when Donghae was sighing on each breath, his body shivering, Hyukjae grabbed the lubricant again, pouring some into his hand and onto his dick before he pulled Donghae up, his strong back resting lightly against Hyukjae’s chest. It was an uncomfortable position, but he did it to make sure Donghae knew it was him as he pushed into Donghae. Both of them groaned, breathing heavily. Hyukjae thrust shallowly a couple of times, and when Donghae dropped down to lean against the console, he knew it was fine to speed up. Reaching around with the hand that hadn’t been in Donghae’s ass, he stroked Donghae’s dick firmly with each stroke, his still-slippery fingers sliding across the skin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He could feel Donghae start to shake as he neared orgasm, Donghae’s hips easily and greedily meeting his own until Donghae came with a sob of Hyukjae’s name. The intensity of his own orgasm overwhelmed him and he had to wonder if he actually passed out for a few seconds. He finally blinked slowly, his mind clearing out. Donghae was still shaking a little, but his sighs every few breaths or so were pleased. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips softly across the bar tattoo, his sticky but slippery fingers circled around Donghae’s waist, savoring the connection between them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae moaned lowly, and Hyukjae could see a satisfied smile start to form.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mm, I love you,” Hyukjae muttered, savoring the feel of Donghae’s body for just a few more seconds.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae finally shifted, moaning with the loss of Hyukjae’s dick, but he spun around and kissed Hyukjae deeply. “Just as I love you,” Donghae returned as soon as their lips had parted. They took another selfish moment to themselves before finally parting and pulling their clothes back on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fuck, you’re so hot,” Hyukjae shamelessly complimented. He thought Donghae was attractive at all times but knowing that his come was leaking out of Donghae’s ass underneath his clothes just made Donghae look even hotter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae chuckled, pressing a kiss to the corner of Hyukjae’s mouth. “Thank you,” he replied. Donghae had gotten a lot better about accepting compliments when they fell from Hyukjae’s lips. “We both have possessive natures,” he murmured, picking up the lubricant bottle. “And we both enjoy knowing of our claim on each other.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae hummed an agreement, nuzzling his nose against Donghae’s before taking a deep breath as the console made a noise to indicate that all the downloads were complete. “Well, the information is downloaded – I must have left that setting on when I disconnected it, so we can start moving whenever. Also, Mark sent us a message to request a contact.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae raised his eyebrows. “How long ago?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nearly a cycle ago. It probably wouldn’t hurt to shoot him a quick message back to ask if he still wants to make contact.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae nodded. “We should do that before we leave so that we may get an answer quickly when we arrive at any jump point.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah. Much as I don’t like it, we should probably find the nearest air cleaner and get cleaned up before anything else.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae laughed softly, teasingly feeling Hyukjae’s forehead. “You are feeling well? Offering to use the air cleaner?” he joked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae chuckled, pressing another kiss to Donghae’s lips. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you comedian,” he teased. “Let’s get cleaned up and get moving since we’re locked into a half-<em>farn</em> run.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Since they were already on a crew level, it was a simple matter of finding a functional air cleaner, tossing their clothes in along with themselves, and letting the cleaner do the rest. Hyukjae still didn’t like them, but he did appreciate the speed. Stepping out and redressing, Hyukjae felt far more clear-headed than he had before Donghae had ambushed him, stretching his arms upwards with a yawn before dropping them back down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae left him back in the communications room with a soft kiss, and he couldn’t help the goofy smile as he quickly composed a message to Mark and sent it to the information relays at the jump point. He tapped the signal that would transmit immediately to the piloting console, indicating to whoever was there that they were able to start flying.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The engines began to whine a little within a minute, indicating that they were jumping out of Five Spokes and on their way to Shina.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Standing up, Hyukjae almost left the room before he stopped, turning back around. He almost forgot to initiate their side of the data dump from the other ship. He’d have to start it from the other ship, which he could take care of before he started helping with the cleanup.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Shadow (그림자)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>warnings: genetic mods, general mistreatment of other people under slavery</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="FicStyle">Walking up through the halls and through the connected ships, he stopped at the crew area first, having already heard noises from that direction.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Jesus, Seungchul what did you hit these guys with?” Alex was asking, her voice carrying down the hall to Hyukjae.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Frag bomb,” Seungchul replied easily. “Might as well use all those explosive packs we pulled out of the probe.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex laughed, followed by a short grunt and a <em>thud</em> of what Hyukjae guessed to be a body landing on the sled. “Dork,” she murmured just as Hyukjae peeked around the doorway. “Oh good, more hands,” she greeted him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae smiled. “Not just yet, I need to start the data dump into our ship before the connection automatically turns off. What’s the next area to get cleared out if you’re done here?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Crew quarters is next to be cleaned,” Seungchul told him. “We’re going to start near the lift and work our way back through to the secondary. Doc and Song Qian are already down in the prison level getting the kids some food, so we need to start cleaning all of that out soon.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “I’ll meet up with you there,” he told them before slipping back out, walking quickly to the lift that would take him up to the flight deck. The robots had cleaned up all the arterial spray along with various other bodily fluids off the screens and chair, leaving puddles still to be mopped around the two bodies since the robots were small and couldn’t lift the dead weight. Flipping the connection open, Hyukjae knew that he had to wait a minute or two before he finally got the prompt message of what he was going to transfer, so he busied himself with dragging the body with a gaping neck wound and a glow knife still stuck in the throat out of the communications room and into the hallway.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The prompt still hadn’t appeared by the time he was done, so he dragged the other body out of the room too, shoving it on top of the other body. Reaching down, he grabbed the glow knife stuck in the throat and yanked it out – and <em>maybe</em> he might have twisted it a little more to see if anything else would come out – flipping the blade on to burn off the blood before turning it back off and putting it in one of the many sheaths still strapped to his body. Getting the knife out of the other guy’s skull was a little more difficult and he finally had to brace his foot against the shoulders before he got it moving.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The hell if he was leaving a perfectly good glow knife out in the void.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Peeking in the room, he sighed as the prompt was finally up on the screen. Tapping through the screens, he initiated a full transfer of information and wipe – everything from the most mundane things to itemized cargo lists to the coded logs. They could probably get Chan to crack those open with enough credits or favors, and while it looked to be a somewhat standard encryption, he didn’t want to put his sub-par code breaking skills to the test and have the data wipe itself. Amber might want to clone it and take a shot, but since they were probably going to wind up at Gahse at some point in the near future, they could let one of the best code breakers in the Empire have a little fun breaking the logs open.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He made sure that everything in the medical area – which was unfortunately coded – was definitely transferred, labeling it a high priority, along with all of the ship designators. He hoped that Zoe and Song Qian had enough information from what they could pull off the available data before they could get everything over to Chan to crack.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Once he was sure the process was started – it would hopefully be done by the time they had to separate the ships – he swiftly patted the two bodies down to find any hidden weapons or spare items. One tiny hand-held reader was all he found.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Teasingly clucking his tongue at the top body, he laughed a little. “Naughty, reading while on duty, what would the captain say?” Chuckling to himself, he pocketed the reader and went to the lift. Arriving on the crew level, he followed the sound of voices to the crew quarters. The sled bore the burden of several bodies – twenty-three he finally counted – easily, hovering in the middle of the hall.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Bring out your dead,” he joked to see where everyone was at. If everyone had known that reference to <em>Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy</em>, he was reasonably sure someone on the level would know that particular Monty Python reference.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hyukjae,” Donghae called, poking his head out of a room just as it sounded like Samuel yelled back that he wasn’t dead yet.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Need a hand?” he asked playfully as he maneuvered his way into the same room as Donghae, easily picking up the feet of the body Donghae was trying to drag out into the hallway. Once that one was on the sled, he helped Donghae with the next one, wondering if he should be rifling through the bodies already on the sled to look for useful items.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I have already done that,” Donghae said, his lips curving upwards. “Most of these that were not in the crew area were asleep, so they do not have items of value on their person, it is most likely in the room.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Moving to the next open room, they easily finished loading the last seven bodies off the crew level. “Next?” Seungchul asked, only breathing a little deeper, unlike Alex who was leaning against the wall, her hands on her thighs.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Medical area, the one still in the officer level, and then flight deck,” Zhou Mi answered. “We can empty the sled into the main hold before retrieving the last ones from the prison area, then we are finished with that chore.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Alex, how’s your asthma?” Samuel asked quietly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">She winced. “It’s not coming into a full-on attack, but I can definitely feel a scratch here,” she said, gesturing to her upper chest. “Probably just need a glass of water and a little breather before I keep going.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Actually, don’t worry about it,” Hyukjae told her, waving his hand. “Song Qian and the doc are probably going to start bringing up the kids soon, so we need these rooms cleared out of anything and everything aside from the sleeping pads before the kids get into them.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex almost looked like she wanted to argue but subsided as Samuel touched her shoulder. “We do have to get the rooms cleared out,” he reminded her. “If you get started on that, it’ll mean we can get the kids up here faster.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex sighed and nodded. “All right. I’ll see you all when you get back up here,” she agreed, staring back down the hallway to the crew area.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Donghae, would you prefer to bring the bodies on the flight deck to the hall or assist Alex in searching?” Zhou Mi asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae’s lips twisted a little in thought. “Flight deck,” he finally said. “I will also retrieve the one in the officer level.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“All right let’s get going,” Samuel said. “They aren’t going to load themselves.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I think it would be a little creepy if they did,” Seungchul joked, following Zhou Mi towards the main lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah I think I would completely freak out,” Hyukjae added, shuddering a little. “I’ve seen way too many zombie movies.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel and Seungchul snorted a laugh.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I can’t believe you marathoned the entire <em>Aliens</em> series right before <em>going into space</em>,” Samuel said, rolling his eyes.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae caught Donghae’s shoulder shaking in silent laughter. “So it’s not the <em>best</em> idea I’ve ever had. I just needed something to occupy my mind since I couldn’t sleep and I definitely didn’t want to eat anything,” he explained, grimacing as they exited the lift on the next floor. Donghae stayed in the lift, giving Hyukjae a brief kiss.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Why did you not want to eat?” Zhou Mi asked curiously as they started to pick up the six bodies right at the lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“There’s no artificial gravity on the ISS and I get really bad motion sickness when I’m in freefall, so I didn’t want to eat something only for it to come right back up. Having an empty stomach helps with that kind of motion sickness for me. I <em>had</em> to get <em>Pioneer</em> up and be ready for that giant coronal mass ejection from our sun, not be stuck on the ground because I couldn’t stop throwing up and had to go back down planet-side.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh, I remember that,” Seungchul said suddenly, grunting a little as he lifted half of a body up. “We had to literally shut <em>everything</em> electronic down and unplug it all <em>and</em> bury it under stuff! I didn’t know you were looking to use that.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded, grabbing the next body by the lift. “Only a Carrington level event would have ever generated enough energy for me to be able to forcefully create a wormhole. Nothing on Earth would have even come close to that level of power. Hell, even the little minor flares wouldn’t have done it. I had to have something <em>that</em> big that would be flung at Earth at just the right time.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi grinned. “As we have told you before, the ancestors ensured that you would have everything required to get to us.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hummed an agreement as they walked down the hall to the medical area. The first body by the door was the one he’d used as a launch pad, the head twisted at an unnatural angle from Hyukjae snapping the neck and dropping the body. His lips twitched upwards as he grabbed the arms and waited for Zhou Mi to pick up the feet before they slung the body onto the sled.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Because there was only the quiet hiss of life support interspersed with the occasional grunt from lifting the literal dead weight, he clearly heard the clinking of something.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oooh,” he breathed, grinning as he reached out and patted the body down. There was nothing in the usual pockets, but Hyukjae easily flipped the body over, tapping his way down the back and only avoiding the spreading stain of bodily fluids on the seat of the pants. “Aha! Found it,” he crowed in triumph, finding the hidden pouch by the left knee.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Pulling out one of his retrieved glow knives, he sliced the pants open from thigh to calf on the left side, unsnapping the buttons that held the pouch in place. Hefting it a little, he tossed the pouch to Zhou Mi, who smiled.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What’s in that?” Seungchul asked as he and Samuel brought out a body with a glow knife sticking out of the throat.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Market credits and lots of them,” Hyukjae replied as he twisted the blade before yanking it out.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Really?” Samuel asked drolly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Zombie movies, sci-fi movies, action movies – make sure it’s <em>dead</em> before you turn your back on it,” Hyukjae defended, turning on the glow knife quickly before stowing both knives away and then patting the body down.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Dude, you stabbed them in the throat hard enough that part of the knife was sticking through the back of the neck and you don’t trust that he was dead?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged. “Insurance. I didn’t think I hit him that hard, though.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Well you did,” Seungchul followed up, frowning at Hyukjae’s amused huff of air. “Why are you so giggly all of a sudden?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He’s been doing that,” Samuel replied, shaking his head. “Was giggling like hell and all spaced out earlier.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Eh?!”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shrugged, his lips still tilted up in a brief smile. “It happens. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to just kill someone.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah, that is why Donghae told you that there were still others remaining?” Zhou Mi asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hummed, nodding. “I just zoned out since I slit the guy’s throat and the blood was going everywhere.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“And the reason you gutted that guy was…?” Samuel questioned.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That was misjudged aim,” Hyukjae replied quickly with a shrug. “I thought I was aiming higher than what I did, but I guess that since I was coming up out of a forward roll, my spatial sense was a little off. Not going to complain though.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What the fuck,” Seungchul muttered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hm?” Zhou Mi answered, obviously confused. “The crew needed to die, does the method concern you?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae blinked, suddenly realizing what Samuel and Seungchul’s problem was. He sighed, reminded once again of his rather dubious morality. “It’s not the method, it’s my <em>enjoyment</em> of it, and with that comes concerns about their own security,” he explained to Zhou Mi.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah.” Zhou Mi shook his head. “There is no cause for concern of your safety. Hyukjae has very selective targets and has proven that over many cycles.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Which is pretty much dickbags like these,” Hyukjae added, waving a hand at the sled.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Seungchul just blinked at him for a second before looking at Samuel. “Dexter?” he asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, I was thinking that, too. I guess if they aren’t overly concerned and they’ve been around him for years, they know what they’re saying and we shouldn’t worry about winding up dead randomly,” Samuel said, jerking a thumb at Zhou Mi.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae snorted, a bit derisive. “Give me a <em>little</em> credit, please. I <em>do</em> know how and when to take out some of my more violent impulses on a training dummy or if we actually have time, Donghae gets to take care of it. Besides, none of you are fuckers like this,” he said with a wave to the sled, “because the twins would have picked up on that a long time ago. None of you have turned into any sort of a credible threat to us because again, the twins would have already pegged you. And honestly, I actually kind of like you all, and it’s <em>not</em> just because you helped us.” He paused. “Also, I kind of want to meet your cousin too,” he told Samuel.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Kalani’s becoming very popular,” he joked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“So yeah, don’t worry about it,” he repeated. “It’s just limited to guys like these and Li Chen for the most part. Although Zhou Li is really creeping up in that list, too.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded. “You would be the only one of us who would be able to do so.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Why is that?” Seungchul asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“The twins can’t, Zhou Mi shouldn’t, and Song Qian would prefer not to,” Hyukjae explained. “I’m the only one of us that wouldn’t have repercussions with killing him.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Okay,” Samuel drawled. “I can understand Zhou Mi having issues because that’s his patriarch.” Zhou Mi nodded in response. “And I can understand Song Qian not really wanting to because she’s like a doctor, but the twins had no issues with helping to wipe out a facility to get you and didn’t have any problems here – why would that be any different to Zhou Li?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shared a long look with Zhou Mi, both of them having completely forgotten that knowledge of the command line hadn’t been mentioned.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“The genetic modifications have a command line and recognition of a psychic marker that prevents anyone with those modifications from attempting to harm any in the direct male line of the Zhou clan,” Zhou Mi explained. “They would be unable to strike at Zhou Li, and any order given to them by myself or Zhou Li would be immediately carried out, no matter their personal wishes.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Damn,” Seungchul muttered. “That seems like a hell of a liability to have, even if there’s only two of you that can do that.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Four,” Zhou Mi corrected as he began to walk back into the medical area to retrieve the last body. “Myself, Zhou Li, and two paternal cousins, Zhou Wen and Zhou Lu.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Is everyone else <em>dead</em>?” Samuel asked, his eyes wide.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“No, there are many other males alive in the Zhou clan. We are simply the only four in the direct line that would be able to order others around, as myself and my cousins are practically clones of Zhou Li and the only ones that survived birth,” Zhou Mi said, the disgust with his great-grandfather clear to see on his face as Hyukjae helped lift the feet of the body. Zhou Mi sighed as they tossed the body onto the sled. Hyukjae grabbed the glow knife lodged in the heart, yanking it back out before patting down the body. “That was decided for me, and I must constantly remind myself not to issue orders so as to not blindly cause the twins distress.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel looked over at Seungchul, raising his eyebrows. “You get the feeling that maybe we’re just…”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Supposed to stay out here to help out?” Seungchul finished. “Yeah, I’m getting that feeling, too.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Your families might have some objections to that,” Hyukjae replied as he shoved the sled back towards the lift. “Besides, things are probably just going to return to normal for us. Help out where we can, survive on what we’ve got, and avoid the living hell out of the capital. There’s no way to tell when or if anyone’s going to say that they have the Mandate.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi hummed as the lift arrived at the flight deck. “We will only know with time.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Meeting back up with Donghae, they loaded up the last nine bodies since Donghae had already searched them while he was dragging them out into the hall for ease of transport. Hyukjae was happy with yet another very full pouch of market credits Donghae had discovered, figuring that between the two pouches, they could keep themselves afloat for a while, spare some to the House, and might even be able to do some runs to help out the tribute colonies they knew. Amber would probably work out their budget later.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">With everyone aside from Amber, Zoe, and Song Qian trawling through the other ship, everything that could be was wiped out within an hour and placed on their ship in preparation for leaving the other ship at the brothel with all of the children that wanted to go there. Zhou Mi had even done a deep scan of the entire medical area to ensure nothing was left or remained hidden. They had found the treatments in a back room, and Hyukjae had carefully carried all of it down into their own medical area. Aside from one hand-held medical device that was unlocked, all of the others that they could find were locked. The unlocked one had words that looked like nothing more than gibberish, so he guessed it was in some kind of code or obscure shorthand.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">As sections were cleared, Song Qian and Zoe would bring up another group of the kids into the crew area to ask them where they wanted to be placed, and Hyukjae would occasionally pop up into the communications room to check that the data dump was still processing smoothly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">It was as he was coming back down onto the crew level that Song Qian found him, already dragging Samuel with her.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hyukjae, we have completed all aside from Group One, but it would relieve both myself and Doctor Zoe if more than ourselves were there with this group,” she said, grimacing a bit.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Of course. Are you wanting us to go get them?” he asked, pointing at Samuel and then himself.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian nodded. “You and Sora have gained the favor of Five-One, and it would most likely relieve her of many concerns if you were the one to bring her up. Samuel has indicated that he has many markings, and that should keep the most violent impulses to a minimum.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Markings?” Samuel asked, confused.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Wait, you have tattoos?” Hyukjae asked in return, curious. He hadn’t even spotted a hint that Samuel had any tattoos whatsoever.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, up into double digits at this point. Oh, I forgot that’s what you call tattoos. Why would tats make anyone calm down?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Usually only criminals have them,” Hyukjae explained. “It’s kind of like that Confucian idea that your body is something given to you by your parents and you shouldn’t mark it or change it because it’s an offense to them.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel snorted a laugh. “That’s kind of absurd to me, but okay.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian tilted her head. “Why is that?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel shrugged. “In my culture, tattoos are incredibly prideful things to have, sometimes going into sacred. When I get back, I’m probably going to get another one to remind myself of my journey out here, like I do with most of my major milestones,” he said.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“As long as it doesn’t involve UFOs and little green men,” Hyukjae joked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel laughed loudly as he rolled up the sleeves of his t-shirt. “Nah, you guys remind me more of a group of killer whales or wolves than anything else.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hummed, impressed at the series of triangle shapes that covered the upper bicep and shoulder of Samuel’s left arm. “How big is that one?” he asked as they stepped into the lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“All the way over my shoulder and onto my chest,” Samuel said, tracing a path with his hand, his thumb and fingers showing the approximate width. “This is my biggest one, though,” he said, lifting up the right side of his shirt.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Wow,” Hyukjae couldn’t help exclaiming. The sharp end of a fishhook stretched across Samuel’s ribs and side, and it took him a full minute to realize that most of the patterning was for tentacles. “Squid?” he asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Octopus,” Samuel corrected, pulling his shirt up more along his back to show off the cephalopod inked into his skin.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That is very nice artwork,” Hyukjae complimented.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel grinned as he let his shirt fall back down. “Yeah, one of my cousins is the one that’s done most of my tats; my great-uncle George did a couple for me before he passed, but Brian’s done all the rest,” he said as the lift stopped at the prison level.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I’m going to grab Five and Eight since they’re both close together. Think you can handle Fifteen and Twenty-Three?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel nodded. “If they’re going to be as scared of my tats as what Song Qian thinks they will be, I can deal. You should be careful though – you’ve got two of the boys who are older. Oh shit, wait, do we need the face masks?” he asked in a whisper, holding Hyukjae back.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head. “Nah, we’ll be fine. These kids are going to be on our ship for a while to finish up the treatments and we’re not going to walk around for a month or so wearing face masks.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel nodded, withdrawing his arm.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Walking down the echoing prison hall, Hyukjae went directly to Five’s room. Five-One was still awake, and she gently shook her brother awake when she saw Hyukjae at the door.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The young boy woke up with a soft moan, his eyebrows scrunching together as the door opened.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Our time givers are going to check your health,” he told Five-One quietly. “We are also moving you to better quarters.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">She nodded her head.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae could tell that Five-Two was still in pain, his brief nap not nearly long enough to wipe out the after-effects of the treatment.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I would like to assist you again, is that acceptable?” he asked Five-One. She still hesitated a fraction of a second but nodded.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will carry you up to keep your pain levels down,” he told the boy. Picking him up off the sleeping pad, Hyukjae settled him back onto his hip. He could hear Samuel down the hall talking softly to the two girls of Fifteen as Five-Two sleepily laid his head down on Hyukjae’s shoulder. Holding out his hand for Five-One to take, he did a quick visual scan of the room out of habit to make sure there wasn’t going to be anything left behind aside from the old sleeping pad and empty bowls and empty cups.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“All right let us get Eight as well,” he told her with a smile as her small hand slipped into his. “Has Eight ever given you trouble?” he whispered to the girl.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">She shook her head easily. “They are kind to us,” she said in a near-whisper.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “Good.” Coming to a stop in front of Eight’s cell, he watched the taller – maybe older one – shake the shorter one awake softly, speaking so quietly that Hyukjae couldn’t hear what he said. “Eight-One,” he greeted as soon as they were standing, keeping his gaze focused between them.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">To his surprise, it was the shorter, wiry one that had been asleep that nodded in return to his greeting, his dark eyes steady, but his nerves showing in the way that he clung to his brother’s hand.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Eight-Two,” he greeted towards the taller one, who nodded back. “Our time givers are now able to check your health thoroughly and wish to speak with you about the treatments you have received.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">They both nodded slightly. Hyukjae let go of Five-One’s hand to open the door, relatively reassured that they weren’t going to blindly attack. As Eight moved towards him, he had to wonder a bit how two siblings could have such different builds and facial features but shoved the thought aside for the moment.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You going to take a swing at me?” Samuel’s voice carried down the hall.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Glancing over, he saw that one of the girls – Fifteen-One, he recalled – was draped over Samuel’s back. Hyukjae had brought the girl down, and though she tried to stop herself, her pain was so intense that she had sobbed into Hyukjae’s back the entire way from the medical area back to the prison level. Her sister trailed behind Samuel with her head lowered. Through the holes in the cells, Hyukjae saw Twenty-Three-Two mutely shake his head, either having calmed down from eating or intimidated from the quick peek of Samuel’s tattoo – or possibly both.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Good, can you carry your sister, or should we come back for you?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I can carry my sibling,” the boy bit out.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Come,” Hyukjae told the Eights, tugging softly on Five-One’s hand.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He had everyone wait until Samuel and Twenty-Three were at the lift as well before getting everyone inside and sending it up to the crew level. Samuel had jerked his chin slightly to indicate he should lead the way to the crew area.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">When he walked in, he immediately spotted Zoe completely absorbed in the data, mouthing words to herself at the table with Donghae seated next to her, while Zhou Mi was towards the back, heating water. Song Qian was waiting off to the side of the large open door with a medical scanner already set up.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“If you will step onto the mat one at a time, please, I will scan your health,” Song Qian told the children.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Do you want them in any order?” he asked, tilting his head to Five-Two.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian pursed her lips for a second. “Let us begin with Five and go through in numerical order.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He nodded, leading Five-One to the scanner and only letting go of her hand when she stepped onto the mat. Tilting his head down, he looked at Five-Two. “Can you stand for your scan or would you like to sit down?” he whispered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I can stand,” Five-Two replied, his voice barely there.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Okay.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Once Five-One was done, he gently set Five-Two down on the mat, only letting go when he was certain the boy wouldn’t fall over, and when the scan was done, he easily scooped Five-Two back up into his arms, letting Eight-One step to the scanner.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Bringing Five-One with him, he pulled out a chair that could fit both of them and set Five-Two down in it. Five-One immediately squeezed herself into the chair as well, curling around her brother protectively. He went around the table to give Donghae quick kiss while they waited on Song Qian to finish scanning everyone.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He noticed Eight standing still, almost unsure of what to do, so he waved his hand to bring them closer. “Have a seat,” he said, smiling a bit, even as he could feel himself starting to fidget.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He moved around to keep the restlessness and itching under his skin to a minimum so he could actually concentrate – and so he wouldn’t jump Donghae right at that moment. Even their quickie wasn’t really enough to dissipate their post-combat libidos, but it was just enough to keep them functional.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You okay?” Samuel asked quietly, watching Fifteen-Two being scanned as Fifteen-One rested on his back, still breathing fast in pain.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He hummed an agreement. “Just kind of restless. I have to move around a bit so I can concentrate when she’s done scanning and so I’m not constantly fidgeting.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel nodded.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He walked over to Song Qian when he saw that she was nearly done with the scans.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Want me to do anything?” he offered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian looked at him, her eyes quickly taking in his appearance. “Restless still?” she answered as Twenty-Three-Two stepped onto the scanning mat.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, it’s not too bad right now, but I don’t want to have the kids getting nervous because I can’t stop fidgeting because we can’t stop long enough to let Donghae and I fully come down.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian hummed, nodding her head. “I suspect Zhou Mi is in much the same state.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He snorted softly. “Probably why Amber wants to keep us all off the flight deck.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian laughed. “Yes, that is a likely scenario. Nothing is needed at this moment, but I am hopeful that we are able to get through this quickly so the children can rest and cleanse themselves.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded, moving back to the table. As he walked closer, he stepped down a little harder than normal to let the kids have some warning he was coming up behind them. Taking his seat, he noted that Eight-One was deeply observant, his eyes scanning over everyone.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae was surprised when Eight-One suddenly jerked, freezing in place for a moment before cautiously looking over at him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Apologies, I did not mean to startle you,” he said with a small smile. “I had thought I created enough noise to warn of my approach.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Eight-One floundered for a second and dropped his eyes to the table. “Apologies. I was taken away by my thoughts,” Eight-One murmured.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“There is no need for an apology, child. Having thoughts is not a crime,” he assured, diverting his attention to let Eight-One have some time to recollect himself. He watched Twenty-Three-Two half-carry Twenty-Three-Three into a chair before taking a seat as well, his jaw clenched tight.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian arrived, going around the table to where Zoe was, still absorbed in the genetic data. She lightly tapped Zoe on the shoulder, perhaps as a warning as the medical scan data popped up, squishing the genetic data down to a smaller area.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Are any of you still experiencing hunger or thirst?” Song Qian asked, her expert eyes running down the children’s vitals while Zoe was obviously taking her time in reading through, probably trying to match up what she was seeing with what she knew.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The children slowly began to shake their heads in response.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will speak to each of you individually about any issues with your health, but the purpose of this meeting with you nine is to discuss the treatments you have been given. You may ask questions as you have them, Eight-One. None will strike at you.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae leaned back a little in his chair so he could watch Eight-One without staring. There was a moment of hesitation, as if Eight-One wasn’t entirely sure about Song Qian’s words, but he finally did speak up.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What sickness are we being treated for?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You are not being treated for a sickness,” Song Qian corrected, her voice gentle. “These treatments are genetic modifications that Zhou Li demanded that you all were to be given. Your treatments have moved on from the foundational treatments into the actual modifications.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae had to clasp his hands together to keep from reaching over to the kids to try and soothe the nervousness.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What are these modifications?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“They are the same modifications that Twin and I were given over twenty-eight cycles ago,” Donghae said. “The modifications increase all of your senses and alter your mind’s pathways to become mildly telepathic. Yes, that is the reason as to why you may feel things far too much or know things that you do not recall being told.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I require your concentration once more to explain what must happen,” Song Qian said after a brief moment where the kids were looking among themselves and down at the table, biting their lips to control their displayed emotions. Even still, there were only two of the children that didn’t have silent tears spilling onto their cheeks.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Your tears are a normal reaction to stress,” Zoe said calmly. “Do not be ashamed of them. This is a very shocking and scary thing to be told.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian nodded. “That is correct. As we have taken you from tribute, you children are now freed people. No one will punish you for displaying your emotions or of asking questions to assuage your curiosity. I require your concentration for only a short time longer before we will take you to your quarters for you to rest, cleanse yourselves, and to give you space and silence to think and comprehend without the confusion of inputs,” she assured.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He noticed Zhou Mi coming closer with the heated water, right behind Twenty-Three-Two. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eight-One watching both Zhou Mi and Twenty-Three-Two with slightly narrowed eyes.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We were only supposed to be <em>slaves</em>,” Twenty-Three-Two screamed as he flew up out of his chair, his face turning red.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Zhou Li is not known for his discernment between slaves and tribute,” Zhou Mi replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae watched as Twenty-Three-Two spun around. His sister was starting to reach out for him, but Hyukjae knew that it wasn’t needed since the boy couldn’t even lift his arm against Zhou Mi.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Stay there,” Zhou Mi ordered firmly, freezing all of the children and Donghae instantly. He put the water next to Zoe, who immediately began pouring it into three cups, dropping a bag of tea into each one before she gave one of the cups to Zhou Mi, who nodded as he sat down next to Donghae. Zoe slid the other cup of tea over towards Song Qian.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You may move to sit down in your chair,” Zhou Mi ordered, freeing their bodies to move. Donghae was looking a little put out, but slowly was relaxing back into his seat. Zhou Mi leaned over, giving Donghae an apologetic kiss. Donghae huffed a laugh and rubbed his head against Zhou Mi’s shoulder.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Who are you?” Twenty-Three-Two gasped, fear making his eyes wide and breath short.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I am Zhou Mi.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae looked over at Eight-One at the sharp breath in.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You know of me?” Zhou Mi asked curiously.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Eight-One nodded his head slightly, staring intently at the table and almost curling in on himself.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“How many cycles are you?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Al-almost thirty-nine cycles,” Eight-One answered softly. He saw Zoe and Samuel looking at him curiously. He mouthed a quick <em>later</em> to them. He honestly couldn’t remember if the conversion between a cycle and a year had been passed around or if it had even been mentioned to them.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi looked impressed and a little surprised. “Your memory is exceptional. You could not have been any older than twelve cycles when my exile occurred.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He thought the blush stealing across the thin face was cute.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“My thanks to you, Lord Zhou.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You do not need to honor me with any title. I am exiled from my clan and have been for twenty-eight cycles. You may simply call me by my name.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae reached over and tapped Zhou Mi on the shoulder. “The younger ones wish to know why you were exiled.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah,” Zhou Mi said, nodding. “I was exiled for freeing two tributes from the experimentation my patriarch had ordered them subjected to, destroying all of the data in the laboratory that I could find, and refusing to tell him where I had sent the twins.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You also refused to apologize to your patriarch,” Eight-One added, for once not dropping his gaze.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi’s lips stretched up in a prideful smirk. “I do not regret my actions, nor will I ever apologize for them as they were nothing to be apologized for. Zhou Li should be the one on his knees groveling before the twins with an apology, not I apologizing to <em>him</em>. Furthermore, he should also be apologizing to you children for what he has set in motion for you all.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What is being done to us?” Eight-One finally asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“From the twins recalling what is known to them from their memories, since the modifications have already begun, they will need to be seen to their completion or near-completion.” Song Qian looked sharply at Twenty-Three-Two, who was looking ready to lose his temper again. “Please calm yourself. None of us wish to force Zhou Mi to order you complacent, but he will do so to ensure our safety if you continue to lash out.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What, <em>what</em>?” Zoe asked, her eyes going wide.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sighed. “Sorry Doc, I forgot to tell you about that part of the genetic mods before we brought them up,” he told her. “Buried somewhere in the genetic codes you’ve been staring at, there’s a recognition of a psychic marker and an obedience command line to the males of the Zhou clan that hold that marker.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Meaning…?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“If I were to order any of them to do something, they would instantly perform that action, just as what happened when I ordered them all into not moving.” Zhou Mi sighed, his lips tightening. “It is not something that I wanted, it is not something that I am proud of, but that decision was made for me before my conception and made for the children and the twins as the genetic modifications were applied. Zhou Li will never truly comprehend the distress he has caused with his project, and he leaves that distress to others to deal with appropriately.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe spun her cup around a couple of times. “How many people can just order them to do anything?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Only four, but four too many,” Zhou Mi scowled before taking a drink of his tea. “Zhou Li, two older paternal cousins of my generation, and myself. My cousins and I are nearly clones of Zhou Li, as it was the only way for him to ensure the psychic marker was put into my generation. We three are the only ones that survived out of the… many that Zhou Li attempted to implant in his grandson’s wives.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What striping?” Donghae suddenly asked, his eyes on Eight-One.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“The stripes of color reflections in your hair and the lighter stripes on your skin,” Eight-One said as he moved a little closer to Eight-Two, flushing a little.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Are the stripes going in kind of a pattern?” Zoe immediately asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Eight-One nodded, using his hand to indicate about where he saw things, looking at Zhou Mi. Three large bands across the hair and then sharply drawing down his cheekbones.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe nodded. “Okay I know what you’re seeing. I don’t know <em>why</em> you’re seeing it, but I know what it is. I’ll make a note to check how far into the ultraviolet you can see.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Why are you two so calm?” Samuel suddenly asked Eight. “Both of you should be just as bad if not <em>worse</em> as what he is. What’s keeping you two so much calmer?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The Eights shared a look before lifting their joined hands into view.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Explain?” Song Qian asked curiously.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We discovered recently that is was much easier to keep calmer if we had physical skin contact,” Eight-Two said, his voice surprisingly soft and sweet.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It seems to keep everything from being <em>too much</em>,” Eight-One added as they dropped their hands back under the table.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Twenty-Three-Three immediately moved over and latched onto Twenty-Three-Two’s hand.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Before we move you to your temporary quarters, do any of you have further questions?” Song Qian asked, offering the kids a means to speak freely.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I have several,” Eight-One said, squaring his shoulders. Hyukjae wondered at the sudden boldness, but he reminded himself that Eight-One was taking the risk of asking to spare the younger ones. “Are these modifications permanent?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes,” Donghae answered. “There were some unfortunates ahead of Twin and myself in the experimentation that concluded the treatments to the end. The medicals then attempted to perform a reversal of the genetics. Those unfortunate ones lost any sanity they had managed to retain and were disposed of as soon as the results were certain.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You previously said that we must continue the treatments to completion or near to it. Why and what is the difference?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Both Twin and I recall that it was the last treatment I received and her next-to-last treatment that we felt calmer and more in control of ourselves. We were able to differentiate between our internal senses and external inputs,” Donghae explained quickly. “Twin has higher senses than I do on a physical and telepathic level, making large markets and festivals extremely uncomfortable for her to attend after some time, but I do not experience as much difficulty. Twin’s eyes have permanently changed color, mine will only change with strong emotions which allows me the freedom to move undetected if I desire. We have concluded that the final treatment is the amplification of our senses and a cosmetic change.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“How long will these take to complete?” Fifteen-One asked, her eyes bright with unshed tears.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We are estimating almost one <em>li fan</em>. There is no reason for any of you to be awake through the process of the treatment and we will give you sleeping medicine before it to spare you as much of the pain as we are able to, <a id="_Hlk51680227" name="_Hlk51680227"></a>and we will give you pain medicine when you wake to assure your comfort,” Song Qian answered. “However, as the sleeping medicine will cause you to sleep for some time, I am only willing to administer one treatment every other <em>farn</em> as your pain tolerance will allow. For the three youngest, I will only administer the next treatment after your systems are free of the medicine for one full <em>farn</em>.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Eight-One looked over at Five, both of them curled around each other and deathly quiet. “Is it possible to apply the last treatment after several cycles? Five has not yet begun to reach their Time of Change and will not for several cycles. They should not be asked to make a decision as adults.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Twin and I were only given our treatments within one cycle, and from the data we have accessed, your schedules look much the same way. We have not had access to another treatment for me, but unless we have obtained more data that indicates that it is safe to do so, we must assume that it is only possible within one cycle. Five, neither of you should ever be asked to make a decision such as this, but we are not your owners, and this is something that you must do for yourselves as freed people,” Donghae told Five-One, his mouth tugging down. Hyukjae knew Donghae was incredibly upset to be forcing a decision that no kid should ever be asked to make.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One nodded, her lips turning down into a frown. He reached over to pat her head. “We will be available to assist you in making your decisions, but you are not tribute any longer and we must treat you as freed people,” he told her.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Where will we go?” Fifteen-Two asked, looking confused and entirely lost.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I plan to ask two people who are dear to me if they are able to bring you into their households so that you will have the security and space to grow into adults,” Zhou Mi replied, taking another sip of his tea. “The twins have enjoyed their freely given hospitality and I trust them both. I would not ask them if I did not believe them capable to care and nurture you all into adulthood. I only ask that you trust me that much.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You do not need to make a decision immediately,” Song Quan assured them all. “It must be made by the time of the last treatment, but not before then. So that you all will have space and quiet to yourselves, we will place you in this ship’s officer quarters so that you are able to rest and cleanse yourselves. After your rest, we will bring you more food cubes and water is available in each of your quarters. We do ask that you limit yourselves to your quarters, or the officer level only if you must move around. We have our own business to attend and we will not risk your safety by exposing you to others outside of ourselves. You also need to be away from the other children so that you are not overwhelmed with sensation that will cause you distress or harm.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Everyone started at the soft chime that echoed through the room, and Song Qian tapped Zoe on the shoulder. “We are near our first destination. Donghae, Zhou Mi, if you will escort the children to their rooms while we return to our ship to prepare?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae stood “Of course.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi also rose, moving towards Samuel when Samuel gestured at Fifteen-One before he left with Zoe.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He tapped on Five-One’s shoulder, bringing her head up to him. She still looked upset and teary, and Five-Two looked more confused than scared. Picking Five-Two up, he swung the young boy to rest on his hip and held out his hand for Five-One to take. “Come on,” he whispered to her, smiling a little.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Easily skirting all of the other movement in the room, he went straight to Donghae, tilting his head slightly to press his lips to Donghae’s. Five-Two was easily transferred from one hip to another, and Hyukjae put Five-One’s hand in Donghae’s before squatting down to be at eye level with Five-One. “Go with Donghae, okay? We’ll be back soon. Once my Elder Sister wakes up, she will greet your return with joy.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Five-One smiled shyly, nodding fractionally and looking a little less stressed. Hyukjae was glad that she was already somewhat relaxed in Donghae’s presence. Rising back up, he stole another kiss from Donghae’s lips, knowing that he needed to leave to get ready to go down to Shina, but also so that they wouldn’t try and pin each other to the nearest surface.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Be cautious,” Donghae said.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Always. I love you.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae smiled. “Just as you have my love.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Giving Zhou Mi an affectionate kiss as he passed by with Fifteen-One carried in his arms, Hyukjae followed Song Qian out to the lift that would take them back down to their ship. Samuel and Zoe were waiting on them.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“There is no <em>way</em> that kid is thirty-nine,” Samuel said, shaking his head as they stepped onto the lift. “He doesn’t even look <em>twenty</em>.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Uh,” he started, waving his hand in front of his face, blowing his breath out around his tongue, making a weird noise as his eyes rolled up towards the ceiling. “Oh, uh, whatever someone says their age in <em>cycles</em> is, cut it in about half to bring it out to Earth years.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“In half?” Zoe asked, obviously surprised.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Imperial time runs off of Yangshi, and Yangshi is in a much closer orbit of its star than what Earth is, so one cycle out here is equivalent to about six months of Earth time, but a <em>farn</em> is so long because Yangshi’s rotation is slower than Earth’s.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“So Eight-One is… what, eighteen? Nineteen max?” Samuel asked. “And all of that drama with the twins happened about fourteen years ago?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “He’s still a kid. Legal age in the Empire is forty cycles, so roughly twenty to us. Oh um, Samuel, you might want to get one of the sleeveless tops we use. Not expecting trouble, but a little bit of intimidation can make things run much smoother,” he explained as they slowed to a stop in the lift. Hyukjae stretched his arms upwards, yawning a little as he dropped them. “If you can grab Alex, too, I’ll get the cargo runner powered up so we can take off as soon as Amber’s there.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Sounds good, we’ll meet you there,” Samuel told him as they walked through the tunnel into their ship.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian gave Hyukjae a brief kiss. “Be careful,” she admonished. “I will send Amber down as soon as either Zhou Mi or Donghae is available on the flight deck.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Thank you,” he called as he split off to head to the cargo runner.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Shirt</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>oh yay more smut!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="FicStyle">“I feel like we’re part of some Wild West gang,” Alex said, tugging on the brim of her hat.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">They were all dressed similarly, wide-brimmed hats, face masks covering the lower halves of their faces while the darkened glasses protected their eyes, gloves, and long black coats buttoned up to keep Shina’s wind-whipped dust off their skin.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, that’s Shina for you,” Hyukjae replied, wincing as the cargo runner’s ramp finally lowered. He’d forgotten how blinding even a red dwarf could be when they were in a close orbit, and the winds were already pelting them with dust grains.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Let us get to the vendor quickly,” Amber said, pulling the brim of her hat down towards her face and keeping a hold on it to prevent the winds from blowing it up and off. Hyukjae happily noted that both Alex and Samuel followed Amber’s example and adopted the same posture that everyone used while on Shina.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Why is this place so windy?” Samuel half-shouted at Hyukjae as they followed Amber in a straight line directly towards a bright tent right next to a cargo runner. He knew that the tent was anchored onto the cargo runner on the leeward side to prevent it from blowing off.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Temperature differentials,” Hyukjae replied in kind. “Shina’s tidally locked so one half is always in the sun, the other half is always in the dark, and the atmosphere tries to balance the temperature between the two.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Stepping into the shade and protection of the vendor’s cargo runner was a welcomed relief from even the few minutes they’d been subjected to the winds.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I welcome you,” the vendor said, pitching their voice over the winds that still howled. “What business may we conduct profitably?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber tugged Alex’s sleeve lightly, telling her to pull her hand out of her pocket. Alex smoothly raised her hand without hesitation, the three hairpins bound together with the jewels swaying and clinking against each other.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah, I have been expecting you, Captain Oshrin,” the vendor replied after a quick inspection of the hairpins and a consult with their hand-held screen. “I ask a few moments time to stow my tent and gather your items.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Of course,” Alex replied. “Our runner is close by, and I will send these two back to prepare for our transfer,” she said, parroting back what Amber and Hyukjae had coached her to say while making their way from the ship down to Shina.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The vendor nodded, and Alex waved her fingers at Hyukjae and Samuel, who both nodded silently and turned around, walking back out into the wind.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">They walked quickly back into their cargo runner, Hyukjae pulling his hat off and shaking his head to dislodge the dust that had managed to work its way into his hair.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Go ahead and take your coat off,” he instructed Samuel. “We’re not going to get sand-blasted in here.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel huffed a laugh, stripping his coat, hat, and gloves. “I was wondering why you said to wear something sleeveless but then handed me a giant coat.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded as he stripped his own coat and gloves off. “Pretty much everything business related on Shina is conducted between cargo runners.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Does anyone actually live here?” Samuel asked curiously as they waited by the door, watching the ramp retracting up and resealing before Hyukjae opened the cargo transfer door that was located beside the ramp.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“No,” he replied to Samuel’s question. “Shina’s only transient populations; mostly just used for brief meetups and transfers along the market rows that we’re in. Most any permanent structure would probably get destroyed within a few years from the winds.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel sighed, shaking his head. “I take it the winds just go all the time?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “It’s what usually happens on any tidally locked place with an atmosphere. Shina’s just one of the worst.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Lovely, remind me to leave a review.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae laughed, spotting the cargo runner lifting off briefly. “Here they come.” He stayed by the door to ensure that the two runners were locked together properly. Alex and Amber stepped onto their runner, both of them ducking down a little to avoid banging their heads on the top of the door.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will –“ the vendor started, only to stop suddenly. Hyukjae peeked over and tried not to smile as it was obvious that the vendor was a little dumbstruck at the tattoo across Samuel’s upper arm and shoulder. They cleared their throat. “I will bring the sled promptly,” they finished, ducking back into their own runner, their fingers already at work releasing a full sled from its gravitational cage.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber had already gone back to retrieve their sled and slid Hyukjae a handful of sensors as they waited for the vendor’s sled to come near the door. Once it was hovering in place, they both stepped onto the vendor’s ship, quickly slapping their sensors onto the cargo. Hyukjae was glad that the vendor had already split the load in two for them, so it was a painless matter for them to pull all of the cargo onto their sled without having to stop and figure out where to break the loads up so they could actually fit through the doorway.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex nodded her head briefly as their sled trundled back towards its assigned spot and the vendor’s sled was empty. “You have our thanks and our hopes that your business continues profitably.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The vendor bowed lightly. “My thanks and hopes for you as well, Captain Oshrin.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Disconnecting the two runners at the door, Hyukjae quickly sealed their hatch closed, his skin stinging from just the briefest exposure. “Are we sealed up?” he asked Amber.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes, the seal is active, and we may take off.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sat down in the second piloting chair, his fingers warming their engines up. Amber was already piloting them off the ground, using only their low-power correctional thrusters to gently lift them into the sky so they wouldn’t cause any accidents with nearby runners.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Once they were at an appropriate distance from the ground, Hyukjae kicked the engines on, letting them escape Shina’s gravity well easily. Amber piloted them on a near slingshot trajectory, using the gravity of the large, rocky planet Shina orbited to boost their speed back towards the jump point where their ships waited.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He and Amber didn’t need to talk much during their landing, but Hyukjae kept an amused ear on Alex and Samuel half-arguing about who was going to tell Zoe that she needed to sleep.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Why don’t both of you do it?” he finally said, laughing.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber was grinning as well. “It would most likely be… beneficial for both of you to ensure that Doctor Zoe actually sleeps instead of staying awake studying data.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae noticed the slight hesitation to Amber’s words and wondered about it, but just like most things, he chalked it up to Amber picking up things on a psychic level and he could just wait to be told things unless it was imminently dangerous.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, but I’m supposed to be second shift in sleeping,” Samuel pointed out.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber shrugged as the cargo runner landed softly. “It is much harder to refute two than one,” she reasoned.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae gave Amber a kiss on her cheek and waved at Samuel and Alex – still arguing about who was going to drag Zoe to sleep – as they all split up in the hall, feeling the tiredness seeping into him. Making his way down into their prison level, he smiled softly at Donghae, who was already laid out on their sleeping pad, but still awake.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Have you been waiting long?” he asked, stripping out of his shirt and pants, leaving his shoes right at the edge of the sleeping pad.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae shook his head. “I only came down as you and Twin were landing,” he said as Hyukjae snuggled into his arms. “The children are settled well into the quarters,” he said in assurance.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hummed, nuzzling his nose against Donghae’s chin. “Good,” he murmured. “Did you already set the alarm?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded, a hand firmly running down Hyukjae’s bare back before latching onto his ass. Moaning in the back of his throat, Hyukjae lifted himself up just enough to meet Donghae’s lips with his own. He knew they couldn’t spend too much time on extended foreplay, but he desperately enjoyed the way Donghae’s mouth moved down his neck, biting and licking marks into his skin before stripping both of them from their briefs. Hyukjae let his legs fall open at the lightest touch from Donghae’s fingers, biting his bottom lip.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hissing a breath of air in, he moaned on the exhale as Donghae pushed two slick fingers inside him, his dick hardening with every breath. Donghae was quick at stretching him and he shook as Donghae used his mouth to coax his dick into being fully erect. It was only when Hyukjae was moaning steadily and three of Donghae’s fingers were smoothly fucking into him that Donghae pulled his mouth off Hyukjae’s dick, giving a last teasing lick at the tip.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He felt completely boneless already, and Donghae hadn’t even made him come yet.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He moaned loudly, his back arching, as Donghae pushed inside with a slick glide. He knew Donghae could feel how much he enjoyed it, his mind already feeling like a babbling mess.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Mm, I love how you take me in so enthusiastically,” Donghae growled into his ear, moaning a little as he bottomed out. Hyukjae rocked his hips up, prompting a hiss from Donghae before he pulled out slowly and then slammed back in. Arching his back, he enjoyed the sparks of pleasure shooting up his spine at the slow drag of Donghae’s dick pulling at his muscles before the hard thrust that never failed to make him moan.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You were <em>so beautiful</em>,” Donghae snarled down at him, his eyes blue and glowing, completely wild. “I wanted to take you right there on the flight deck,” he panted, his thrusts speeding up. Hyukjae moaned, knowing what Donghae was reliving, his own memories catching the wild flash in Donghae’s eyes as he gutted that one guy.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Reaching up, he grabbed a handful of Donghae’s hair, tugging on it. “I wish you could have,” he growled back. “I wish you could have taken me any – where,” he finished on a moan, his breath catching as Donghae hit his prostate again. “I wish you could have taken me right there in front of the captain while Zhou Mi made him <em>watch</em> how good you fuck me, made him watch how <em>worthless</em> I am when you’re knotted up inside me right before he <em>died</em>.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">A purely animal-like growl erupted from Donghae’s throat. “I would take you in front of <em>Zhou Li</em> before you kill him, I would fuck you until you are screaming over his body before you apply the death blow.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae laughed darkly, moaning. “I would love to cut his tongue out and let him bleed out slowly and make him watch you fuck me so <em>good</em>,” he gasped, his eyes rolling up. “More, more, more,” he begged, baring his neck to Donghae. “I – I wouldn’t even b-bother to stab him until you were completely stuck in me,” he babbled, the unrealistic fantasy – he’d kill Zhou Li from range and in one shot – fueling his pleasure, which fueled Donghae’s pleasure. With another thrust, he jerked hard, his dick spluttering out little bursts of come all across his stomach, his thighs shaking and toes curling as he hit his orgasm without either of them touching his dick.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He hadn’t even had time to even barely recover from that orgasm when Donghae came with a snarl of Hyukjae’s name, and Hyukjae was screaming into Donghae’s strong shoulder, all of his senses overloaded as Donghae’s dick knotted deeply inside him, the steady pressure against his prostate wiping his mind of anything and everything except <em>Donghae</em> as he came again, his blunt nails digging into Donghae’s skin.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">His muscles were still randomly spasming and shaking with the aftermath of his second orgasm and the steady, large pressure within him for the next several minutes. He could barely open his eyes as Donghae rolled them onto their sides, his fingers stroking Donghae’s slightly darker skin in an attempt to anchor himself with the sensation.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I love you,” he whispered sleepily.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Just as I love you. Are you comfortable?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He nodded with a hum, still unable to really keep his eyes open. Sinking into Donghae’s touch, he slowly got his breath back as Donghae stroked his skin in return.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Would you truly do that?” Donghae asked softly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hm?” he murmured, cracking an eye open.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Would you truly like to cut Zhou Li’s tongue out and make him watch me fuck you?” Donghae elaborated.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hummed. “In a perfect world, yes,” he answered, blinking his eyes open. Lifting his hand, he threaded his fingers through Donghae’s soft hair. “But in this world, I think killing him from range and quickly is safer for everyone,” he finished. “Though I would love to make him watch how much I <em>love</em> your modifications. His dumb ass attempt at separating you out backfired spectacularly,” he laughed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae giggled against his lips. “I agree with your plan of action, but it is very arousing to fantasize about destroying him slowly and with malice.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae made an agreeing noise, cuddling closer to Donghae. He was so <em>full</em>, his body completely speared open by Donghae and both of then unable to move – and really, neither of them <em>wanting</em> to move. He finally felt somewhat clear-headed, as clear headed as he could possibly be with Donghae knotted up inside him, the high of combat and killing finally drained.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nipped at his shoulder, and he smiled.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Feeling better?” he asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae hummed. “I needed that,” he confessed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He chuckled softly, his eyes raking over Donghae’s blissful face. “We both always do,” he murmured with affection. “That’s probably why Amber put us in the first shift for sleeping.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae grunted an agreement. “Twin is always very aware of what combat does to us.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“’That seems extremely uncomfortable and inconvenient,’” he parroted.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae laughed, hugging him tight. Amber’s comment about sexual desire always made everyone laugh in good humor from the wittiness of her words and the laconic delivery. He enjoyed the time he and Donghae spent cuddling, and definitely enjoyed letting Donghae jerk him off while he was still full.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The only thing he <em>didn’t</em> enjoy was having to take yet another trip through the air cleaner after Donghae was able to pull out of him, the skin on his right arm and the same side of his face still a little sensitive after being exposed for even a few seconds to Shina’s sand-blasting winds. Finally lying down after they had pulled on their underwear, he curled up around Donghae’s body, dropping off into a well-deserved sleep.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">/</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Growling at the alarm, Hyukjae opened his eyes. Donghae’s eyes were open, but blue and glowing, a sure sign of his annoyance at being woken up. He caught Donghae’s eyes, his lips twitching upwards. Donghae huffed a soft laugh in return. Rolling onto his back, he stretched his arms and legs out with a yawn before sitting up and ruffling his hair. Donghae was likewise stretching, and Hyukjae reached over for his pants that were still in a heap on the floor, pulling them on before stepping back into his shoes.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Since they both knew that they would be up for a while, they both took a bit of time to go through a morning routine of cleaning their mouths, emptying their bladders, checking their appearances, and a little domestic straightening of their belongings that warmed Hyukjae to no end when he was able to experience them with Donghae.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">They caught Zhou Mi and Song Qian at the entrance to the prison level, exchanging kisses, hugs, and wishes for a good sleep – which Hyukjae knew they would be just as sleep deprived as he and Donghae were and for the exact same reason – before he and Donghae made their way up to the flight deck to relieve Amber.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber was a bit lethargic as she turned towards them, blinking her eyes.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae leaned down, kissing her forehead and letting her lean into him. “Do you want to sleep up here?” he asked, concerned that Amber wouldn’t get any sleep at all from either nightmares or from sexual desires keeping her awake. “I don’t know how long they’re going to be.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber shook her head. “They will probably be finished with their sexual activity by the time I finish cleaning myself, and I should be able to sleep now that everyone is reassured of their continued existence.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“If you’re sure,” he replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber nodded. “I am. We will arrive at Kaplug in less than one standard, where we will be able to receive any message from Cheng Bao to change the meeting destination, and Song Qian will compose a message to her House when it is known how many children wish to seek sanctuary in the brothel,” she said standing and stretching her arms upwards as Hyukjae took her seat.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Did you clone the logs?” he asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">She nodded. “I was able to break a few open, but most were wiped on the clone,” she admitted ruefully. “Neither of us has had the time to continue improving our skills at code breaking, but I believe it is in our best interests to contract Chan to crack them fully for the highest chance of success. I do not wish to even attempt to clone the medical logs for fear of wiping them.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Funny you say that,” he told her. “I haven’t had a good time to tell everyone, but Mark sent us a message almost a cycle ago – he wanted us to get in contact with him.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber’s eyebrows shot up. “Unusual and slightly concerning for him to directly message us asking for a contact, as it is usually him who is contacted.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He nodded. “I shot him a quick memo back asking if he still wanted the contact before we left Five Spokes, so we’ll have to wait and see when he gets back to us. But we’ll probably wind up at Gahse soon, so we can Chan the logs then.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber nodded, standing up from the piloting chair with a yawn. “I also told Samuel to join Alex and Doctor Zoe in sleeping on the first shift, but I also sent Seungchul to sleep for a shift not long after.” She rolled her eyes. “Everyone was being <em>noisy</em> and getting cranky, so I just sent them all to bed.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae chuckled, laughing at the mental picture of Amber sending four people who were all older than she was to bed like they were her overly tired children.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Good job,” he replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I agree, but now please go to sleep, Twin. I can feel your tiredness.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber grunted a little, but obligingly left the flight deck. Hyukjae unlocked his chair, rocking it softly back and forth as they continued their run to Kaplug, chatting his parents and sister along with the admiral for the next couple of hours before they older ones eventually drifted off to their rooms to sleep.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Once their parents had left, Sora started in on a full-on rant about what an ass she thought Zhou Li was, along with a few choice words about Li Chen. He was deeply amused at his sister’s protective nature coming to the forefront. She’d been <em>so</em> protective of him when they were kids, since Hyukjae had always been kind of scrawny and thin and was an easy target for bullies from both his less-than-wealthy background and higher than normal intelligence, and she hadn’t stopped until Hyukjae had learned to fight back – both with words and with his fists.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Although if he thought back on it, it wasn’t until he’d put her cheating boyfriend into the hospital with missing teeth, a concussion, and definitely a sprained wrist – or maybe he’d actually broken it – that Sora had actually realized how well Hyukjae had learned to take care of himself. He’d narrowly avoided legal issues with that incident, and maybe he should have known at that point just what he was truly capable of.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What are you laughing at?” Sora snapped at him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Just remembering when I put Jisoo in the hospital,” he replied indulgently, enjoying the way Sora rolled her eyes so hard, her face tilted up.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I could have handled it myself,” she retorted.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He was <em>cheating</em> on you,” he replied hotly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae’s laughter interrupted their brewing argument.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You both are deeply protective of the other,” Donghae pointed out. “Noona was worried at the time about your actions, and you were worried about her emotional state.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Sora blew her breath out, her lips twitching upwards. “That has to be one of the easiest ways anyone’s ever used to get us to stop fighting,” she commented to Hyukjae, who laughed.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Do I want to know how you managed to avoid getting arrested?” Sora finally asked, shaking her head.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I knew who he was cheating on you with,” Hyukjae answered simply, smiling. “I also may have told him that I had some rather incriminating evidence that would find its way onto every board in the school if he pressed any charges.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Sora stuck her tongue out at him, much to his amusement. “You got lucky,” she told him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh definitely, considering I didn’t really have anything, but I bluffed it enough that he thought I did,” he agreed with a shrug. “Feeling better?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Sora sighed, nodding. “A little, yeah. I think I’m also a little more on edge because I’ve been worrying about what’s going to happen when we get back.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae frowned. “I made it <em>very</em> clear that the only way I’d accept anyone else aside from you and Mom and Dad is if they left you completely alone. Also, go to sleep. You’ve been up nearly a full day – an Earth day – at this point.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh has it been that long?” she murmured. “It’s not so much anyone bothering us, it’s just me worrying about my job – my manager was not happy about letting me take time off with such short notice,” she relayed, rolling her eyes. “He’s an over-controlling jerk, but I just don’t feel like job hunting right now.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae grimaced. He’s completely forgotten that they’d been gone from Earth for almost a week, and that they were looking at possibly another week before they could slip back, if not more.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Relax, monkey,” Sora chided, obviously seeing the look on his face. “My job is not nearly as important as protecting the entire planet from being found and you getting captured again.” She giggled softly. “Who knows, I could just find a job out here,” she teased, waving her fingers before walking off the flight deck.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Go to sleep, noona,” he called after her, shaking his head.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You worry for her,” Donghae commented.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He nodded. “Everyone else will be fine since they’re in the military and were ordered to come, and our parents make their own jobs, but noona’s boss could fire – um, release her from her work – if she’s gone too long. And if the Mandate is about to change, I don’t know if being out here would be safe at all.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae hummed. “I agree with your worries about her safety, but she will have to determine her placement for herself.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sighed. “I know, I just want them all to be safe,” he muttered, looking at the flight deck door. He shook his head. “I’ll just have to accept their decisions, even if it stresses me out.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae smiled softly. “A struggle we all face with each other. How is the data transfer?” he asked, changing the topic.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae turned to tap at the screen, cloning the communications screens to his side of the console. “Still going,” he said. “It should be done before we have to separate the ships.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded. The automatic pilot chimed at them, indicating that they were nearly to Kaplug.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hey when we drop out, give me a second to hit the beacon to see if Mark replied,” he told Donghae, locking his seat again.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae hummed an agreement. “Cheng Bao will also most likely message us.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, changing the meetup.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Their transition into the jump point was smooth – they had enough power to keep the dampeners on now – and as Donghae adjusted their orientation, Hyukjae ran his hands over the communication screen, connecting their ship to the networks via the beacon.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He shouldn’t have been surprised at the multiple clangs of directed messages, but he jumped a little as three came in at once. Checking the screen, he saw Mark had very quickly replied, but he groaned a bit in annoyance as he saw there was a message from Cheng Bao.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Where does Cheng Bao wish to meet us at now?” Donghae asked, already guessing.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He wants to meet at Basa now,” he muttered, absently waiting on Donghae to pull up the navigational data by opening Mark’s message. He really shouldn’t be surprised that the destination was changed, but it was still stressful.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hm, we should make our way directly to Ba-sing, then. We can separate the ships there before the short jump to Basa,” Donghae said.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Should also cut down on the time the ships are separated, too,” Hyukjae added. “Ah <em>fuck</em>.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae made a soft noise of inquiry.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“’It is imperative that we meet to discuss a high-priority business contract. A silent vendor insists upon having reliable and trustworthy runs performed for them, and your captain is the first and only I thought of,’” Hyukjae read as he noticed Samuel walking onto the flight deck, a cup of coffee in hand.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh <em>fuck</em>,” Donghae repeated, understanding exactly what Mark had buried in the business contact message.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What did I just walk into?” Samuel asked, sitting in the weapons chair.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shoved his hands through his hair, a lot more on edge than he had been. “Mark is mostly an information broker,” he explained, watching Samuel’s face twist up in confusion. “Yeah I know it sounds like a Western name, but it’s what he goes by. He doesn’t get involved in much and he’s usually the one being contacted, but he’s contacting us and wanting a meeting with everyone.” He shook his head. “That’s… not great news. I’ll message him back and tell him we’re on timed runs, but we’ll stop by as soon as possible,” he told Donghae, who nodded.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Didn’t he just say ‘the captain’ though?” Samuel asked, taking a sip of his coffee.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head. “Not one of us has the function of <em>captain</em>. We work on a communal majority since there’s only five of us, and Mark knows it. ‘The captain’ is all of us.” Quickly responding to both messages and waving away the random business request for one of their many ship identities, he made sure that the beacon had received it and transmitted them to the network before he nodded at Donghae. “Ready.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded, and they worked their screens to adjust their destination to Ba-sing before aligning on a trajectory and jumping out of Kaplug.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Once the automatic pilot was engaged, he unlocked his chair, swinging it around. “Did you sleep much?” he asked Samuel.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">The larger man shrugged. “Some, but then Zoe knocked me out of the bed and I just said fuck it I’m up,” he muttered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae did a double take. “Huh?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel blinked at him. “You guys said ‘make sure the doc sleeps,’ so we <em>did</em> by just sleeping all together to make sure she went down, which that was a fight in and of itself.” He shook his head. “Those beds are not big enough for three people, let alone <em>four</em>.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shared a look with Donghae, both of them trying to contain their laughter.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That’s exactly why we just use the prison level instead of crew quarters,” Hyukjae laughed, knowing how cramped the beds could be.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“When we choose to sleep communally, two sleeping pads are more than adequate for all five of us,” Donghae added, his lips curved upwards. “I am a little surprised that you are aware of the benefits of communally sleeping. Hyukjae was deeply surprised the first time.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel shrugged, and Hyukjae thought he saw the hint of a blush. “Well, it’s not the norm for some cultures, but it…” He shrugged again, taking a sip of coffee. “I don’t know man, they’re just comfortable to be around and no issues piling into a bed for sleep. Maybe it was basic training that made us comfortable with sleeping around others? I don’t know.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae leaned back in his chair, pulling up a leg to curl under himself. He didn’t even need to look at Donghae to know not to tease Samuel. “If it works, it works,” he said. “Like Donghae said, there’s actually some benefits to sleeping all together, too. Unless you get knocked out of bed.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel chuckled into his cup. “Yeah that’s a rather effective alarm,” he agreed. “These floors are freezing.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “I’m surprised I didn’t get frostbite on my feet when I first woke up.” He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully at Samuel’s curious glance. “I was completely naked when I woke up on the ship. The Zhang apparently do that to everyone on first arrival, strip you naked and shove you through an air cleaner before dropping you on a sleeping pad.” He rolled his eyes a little as he shook his head.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel raised his eyebrows nearly up to his hairline. “You were naked through an entire riot on a prison ship?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “It’s not the best way to wake up. Thankfully, everyone was a little more preoccupied with rioting and then trying to kill me, and the Zhang culture is not really that concerned about brief bouts of nudity, especially for criminals or slaves. I think for me, that was one of the most shocking things I was first introduced to. Even going to the saunas didn’t prepare me for that,” he laughed. He watched Samuel yawn into his cup, and after he’d finished yawning himself, he shook his head. “We’re still about two hours out of Ba-sing if you want to try and grab some more sleep.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Samuel shook his head. “Nah, I just need to wait for the coffee to kick in. Besides, everyone else will be waking up shortly… or now,” he amended as Zoe walked onto the flight deck. “I thought you said we’d be going to Bing-dau first though?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh,” Hyukjae replied, his lips tilting upwards as Zoe leaned against the high back of the weapons chair, propping her head up on her fist, looking more asleep than awake. “A lot of times, the meetup place gets changed last-minute as an extra security measure. Cheng Bao wants to meet at Basa instead – it’s a nearby system to Ba-sing, so we can just go straight to Ba-sing and cut out Bing-dau, which will also make the travel time to and from Cheng Bao more in the area of five minutes from Ba-sing to Basa rather than an hour it would be from Bing-dau to Ba-sing.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I think my eyes just crossed at all the names,” Zoe muttered. “Where we were going to originally meet Cheng Bao is now going to be the rendezvous point where we disconnect the ships?” she asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “That’s it.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe stretched her arms up, rocking her head from side to side. “Have you been able to pull anything else out of the medical data other than what we’ve got now?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae shook his head. “They’re coded, probably because the modifications are still secretive, so as soon as we finish these timed runs for Cheng Bao, we’ll stop off at Gahse and have his code breakers crack everything open.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hm,” Zoe muttered. “That’s actually a problem, because we still haven’t found the sequence of treatments, and we don’t want to screw up and give someone a treatment out of order. I mean, unless you or Amber or Zhou Mi remember something about it,” she added.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Twin and I only recall that we were given them, but there was no information otherwise. You will have to ask Zhou Mi if he recalls anything,” Donghae replied, shaking his head regretfully</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sighed. “And of course, we don’t know where Cheng Bao is going to send us next, too.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae hummed an agreement. “We will be unable to determine anything until we have the next destinations and time frame given to us, but it is beginning to sound as though we must stop at Gahse very soon.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Can’t they just come and meet us wherever?” Samuel asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes they could, but that would be dependent upon our next destinations from Cheng Bao and their travel time from Gahse, as we also need to get all of the other children to either a House or to a tribute colony, if they wish to go there, very quickly so as to reduce their chances of knowing who rescued them.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh right, I keep forgetting that you guys have people looking for you,” Zoe said, shoving a few strands of hair out of her face.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You really do have the memory of a goldfish, don’t you?” Samuel teased, looking up at her.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hey now. Maybe a golden retriever,” Zoe laughed. “How I managed to get through med school with such a bad memory is beyond me.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That’s what Google is for,” Hyukjae told her, smiling.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“No, that’s what medical databases are for,” Zoe corrected. “Okay, so when Song Qian wakes up and we go feed the kids, we can find out for sure where they want to go. I know some of them have said that they want to go to the brothel right off, but I’ll have to check the notes to remember which ones we still need an answer for. If you can check with those guys you mentioned, and see if they can meet up with us to get those medical logs cracked open so I can at least help Song Qian get the treatments sorted before we get back to Earth.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “I’ll send a contact to Mark when we get to Ba-sing to see if he can get at least one of them to us. Good morning,” he greeted a tired, but satisfied, looking Song Qian.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian hummed. “What of Mark?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He sent us a message about a cycle ago, requesting a contact. I messaged him before we left Five Spokes to ask if he still wanted a contact from us, and by the time we got to Kaplug, he’d replied and says that he wants to meet with us. Yeah,” he agreed to Song Qian’s now very awake and concerned look. “But since the medical logs are all coded and Amber was only able to open a few of the basic logs before the clone wiped itself, we’re going to have to get to someone, probably Chan, to break into the logs. So might as well try to ask Mark to meet us somewhere with him.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian sighed. “Of course, we also are on timed runs that we cannot afford to break off with variable destinations which will make meeting with Mark much harder,” she added. “Did our destination change?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “We’re on our way to Ba-sing since he wants to meet at Basa now.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Is Zhou Mi aware that Mark wishes to have a meeting?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I am aware of that just this moment,” Zhou Mi said as he walked onto the flight deck. “Why does he wish to meet and with who?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Don’t know, but he wants to see all of us,” Hyukjae replied as Donghae reset the automatic pilot check. “We’re on our way to Ba-sing, since Cheng Bao changed our meeting place to Basa, and I’ll get Mark a contact when we get the next destination asking if he can spare Chan to crack the medical logs open,” he told Zhou Mi, hitting all of the major points.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“When did Mark contact us?” Zhou Mi asked curiously.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“About a cycle ago while we were disconnected from the network,” Hyukjae told him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi sighed, ruffling his own hair. “Well, nothing can be determined until we get to Ba-sing,” he said. “Where is everyone at this moment? Amber will be here shortly,” he added.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Mother, Father, Noona, and the admiral have all gone to sleep until we reach Ba-sing, and I believe Alex and Seungchul will likewise be awake soon?” Donghae asked Samuel and Zoe, who both nodded. “The power levels are continuing to remain stable,” he assured Song Qian. “We will arrive at Ba-sing in less than one standard.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi and Song Qian both nodded.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Doctor Zoe and I will go up and bring the children more food cubes and we should also check the health of the ones that have been insulted recently again to ensure they are recovering well from any injuries received,” Song Qian said. “When Amber arrives, could you send her up to us as well? I would like her to take the measurements of Group One to make them more appropriately fitting clothing, as they will be with us for some time.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What about the other kids?” Samuel asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“They will be given new clothing as they enter into the brothel,” Song Qian explained. “That is also why I wish to get them to the House as quickly as we are able. I do not think any of the children had been in any form of cleaner in half a cycle from their states, nor have they had fresh clothing in that amount of time as well,” she said, her temper at the poor treatment boiling enough to let it show on her face. “The clothing they do have is often too small and the fabric is so used and worn it would be a waste of power to attempt anything other than throwing it all into the nearest incinerator.” She sighed, tilting her a head a bit and forcefully calming herself down. “Doctor Zoe, let us move to the crew area so that I may draw a time giver mark on you once again for the children before we go to them.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe nodded, covering a yawn with her hand. “Sure,” she said, following Song Qian out of the flight deck.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Calling You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hyukjae kept one eye on the data dump as they started to near Ba-sing, checking the time remaining against the time still in flight. Assuming that the data didn’t have any issues, it would finish roughly ten minutes before they dropped out at Ba-sing. Amber was fast about getting the kids some new clothes, and she was back within thirty minutes, standing by the piloting console on Donghae’s side and leaning against a blank area. Samuel had gone back down to the crew area for more coffee, and Alex had taken his seat while he was gone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We can’t keep just calling them by numbers,” Zoe said as she walked onto the flight deck from getting the other kids some food. “That feels so insulting.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“As the children are accepted into the brothel, they will be given names upon arrival. When the children of Group One join us on our ship, we will offer them names then,” Amber said reassuringly. “They are still uncertain and confused about their sudden change of status, and some reassurance of their safety will be gained from receiving a name.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What kind of names?” Zoe asked, leaning against the back of the weapons chair again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber shrugged. “Hyukjae proposed names for Twin and myself based upon how he experienced our eye colors, and as soon as he spoke them to us, we could feel how… correct they sounded for us. It would most likely be best to use the same methods for the children. Since it is doubtful that any have been educated, they would not be able to read the names for themselves, so we will speak them along with any meanings or hopes that we may be aware of.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian hummed. “Once they have received their names, I will begin giving them a basic education while we wait for the medical logs to be opened. There is no reason they should not also have the benefit of a brothel education merely because they must stay with us for a time, and if Meng Jia or Wang Fei are able to take them into their households, they will continue their education at that point.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You teach too?” Alex asked, obviously surprised.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian nodded. “All time givers seek to spread education, as it is but one part of caring for the health of an individual. The Empire only thrives when the people in it are healthy, and since the Houses do not agree with slavery, we are taught to give education to all, no matter their status.” She sneered, almost delicately. “I have encountered many owners who would rather let their tribute die than seek out a time giver to heal them simply on the basis of fear that we will educate them and that will cause them to flee to a House to seek sanctuary.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex bit her lip in thought. “Are there social taboos about some names?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber nodded her head once. “The most common prohibitions across all cultures of the Empire is naming two people the same name in close proximity at the same time. It is so that the ancestors will not confuse one for the other. If one is named after a family member or a known close friend, it should be one who has moved to be with the ancestors for some time and the newly named person would not be subject to any lingering fate strings from someone who is recently deceased.” She paused, looking at the doorway. “Popular names do exist, and it is not uncommon to find similarly named people, but they are not given those names at the same time in the same location,” she said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae looked over, almost unsurprised to see Samuel and Seungchul standing there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Cool,” Samuel said simply, both of them coming in further to lean against the weapons chair or comfortably squat down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A lot of names are gender-specific,” Alex said, looking thoughtful. “What if one of them chooses a name that’s different than how they appear?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“As in a case of someone born into the incorrect sex?” Donghae asked. “If one of the children feels at odds with their biological sex, it is possible to assist them in correcting that issue if they so desire, and they are free to choose a name of the sex they wish to be. If someone is only uncomfortable with a gender, but accepting of their physical body, many names are appropriate for multiple genders. The children will know for themselves which name is correct for them.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae watched Zoe, Alex, Seungchul and Samuel all blink at each other for a solid minute.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I – I think that’s the easiest acceptance I’ve ever heard,” Zoe said, looking a bit shell-shocked. Alex was still looking like she was still processing the words, while Samuel took a sip of his coffee, processing the information in his own way. Seungchul twisted his head at an almost uncomfortable to look at angle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That happens?” Seungchul asked curiously, rapidly blinking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah,” Alex said slowly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh. Huh, didn’t know that,” Seungchul said, shrugging, his head righting itself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This is how he processes,” Samuel laughed to Alex’s confused look upwards. “He did the exact same thing when he found out about them being together,” he said, waving a hand towards Hyukjae and Donghae.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How would the kids know if a name is right for them?” Zoe asked. “Is it like if they hear a name and they like it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The twins shared a long look, obviously communicating between each other.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It is from the modifications,” Donghae finally said. “Twin and I experience certain… feelings that are from no one around us. When Hyukjae first spoke my name, it was a feeling of certainty within me, or of some form of approval. Zhou Mi and Song Qian had offered names to both of us over our time together, and yet none of those names felt correct. But when Hyukjae said our names, Twin and I knew immediately that they were correct for us. The children are already becoming modified, and they will likely also have that feeling of certainty when they hear the correct name.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae turned his chair around and locked it in place as the automatic pilot chirped at them that they were coming to Ba-sing’s jump point. He absently pulled up the communication screens on his side of the console, keeping a watch on the data dump. He could see it was nearly complete, but they would have to stay locked together for a few minutes to let it finish.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey, hop up, I want some practice looking at the screens,” Samuel said. Hyukjae could guess he was talking to Alex about sitting in the weapons chair. From the shuffling taking place, he could also assume that Alex moved to let Samuel sit down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ba-sing is going to be very busy,” Donghae warned. “Please do not stare at anything for more than a second so others will not think we will attack them.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Got it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How is the data transfer proceeding?” Song Qian asked, braiding her hair in front of the console.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Still going, I think something took longer to move, so hopefully it’ll be done within a few minutes of our arrival,” he told her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She hummed an agreement, moving off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aside from those who are going to Basa to meet with Cheng Bao, we should begin moving ourselves to the other ship,” she said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Transitioning out into the jump point, he smirked at Samuel’s mutters as the weapons screens probably lit up wildly from all the input at Ba-sing. He and Donghae quickly moved the ships to orbit around Ba-sing’s central star, which also got them out of the jump point for other ships to arrive safely.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once the orbit was stable, he and Donghae stood up, letting Amber and Zhou Mi take their places.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Be careful,” he muttered into Zhou Mi’s hair as he gave the other man a back hug. “I know it’s minimal risk, but Cheng Bao is such an unknown.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi looked up, gifting him with a smile. “We will practice caution,” he assured.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Smiling back, he gave Zhou Mi a quick kiss before giving Amber one too. “You guys be careful too,” he playfully chided Samuel and Alex.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Aye, aye, captain,” Alex said, bringing up a couple of fingers in a sloppy salute.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Huffing a laugh, he took Donghae’s hand as they walked off the flight deck. “How are you and Amber holding up?” he asked in the lift. “With the kids and treatments, I mean,” he explained to Donghae’s inquiring look.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ah. Twin and I are… unsettled about the children. It is difficult being faced with that part of our lives again. It has also caused us to wonder how many more tributes Zhou Li has modified, is it many because there were copies of the research at a location Zhou Mi could not access in his anger? Or are there few because the research and modifications had to be recreated?” He frowned a little, his fingers tightening around Hyukjae’s as they walked onto the other ship through the connection tunnel. “The children of Group One are also very unsettling to be around through no fault of their own. Twin and I easily feel their confusion from inputs with no control over what they experience, which we also clearly remember from our own time like that. It is unnerving, but I do not wish that we had not met them. No matter how uncomfortable it is for Twin and I to recall our own treatments, it is best to be aware of the moves of others like Zhou Li with clarity rather than avoidance.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He hummed, his heart aching for Donghae and Amber, but he also knew that all he could really do was just be present for them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae smiled at him brightly, leaning forward to give him a loving kiss. “We all appreciate your constant presence when we are unsettled about something or trapped in our memories. You are our beloved touching stone that we rely on far more than we could ever give back.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae smiled in return, nuzzling his nose against Donghae’s chin. “You know you all don’t have to repay me for anything. I rely on you all so much too, and I have since I first saw you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae smiled, giving him another soft kiss as the door opened onto the flight deck level. Once they stepped out of the lift, Hyukjae knew that their minds turned instantly into a business mode, mentally making lists of what they needed to accomplish to disconnect the ships and put their stolen one in orbit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian was sitting in one of the chairs already, her fingers dancing across the screens to power the portions of the ship on that weren’t already running. Donghae took the other chair to help her and to also begin the startup for the engines.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you want to pilot?” he asked her softly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She shrugged. “It does not concern me either way,” she replied. “We also need to retrieve Group One from the officer quarters to get them ready to bring over to our ship while we await their return.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He rubbed her shoulders, feeling the tight muscles under his fingers. “Are you holding up okay with everything?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She sighed, leaning into his touch. “It is slightly upsetting that Doctor Zoe does not approve of time givers also knowing entertainment arts, but she has acknowledged that there is logic behind the process. The children…” she sighed. “I am more concerned for Donghae and Amber more than myself or Zhou Mi, but it has given all of us additional concerns about how many more tributes have been modified, I think. In addition, Mark contacting us? It feels overwhelming and disconcerting.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He hummed. “Donghae said the same thing about the kids and making us wonder how many more there are. Not something we’ll know the answer to right away.” He shook his head. “It’s a very ingrained societal thought about entertainment arts all over Earth,” he assured her quietly. “It’s one of those things that I got used to over time out here, so just give it a little time and she probably won’t be so bothered by it. It’s just a shock to her system since we all get used to doing something one way and we forget that not everyone else does it the same way, too.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian hummed. “Being tired also does not help any of our mental states, but I would rather be tired and slightly annoyed and upset about that state than to leave the children as tributes.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s something that we all can agree on. We’ll catch up on our sleep during our next run hopefully.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She grunted. “Half-<em>farn</em> runs are the worst,” she complained. “I will have very unkind words towards Cheng Bao if he pushes us into another half-<em>farn</em> run.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I believe all of us will,” Donghae added softly. “We all detest these short runs that do not allow for us to sleep a proper amount of time. Twin?” he asked into the console. “Is the data transfer still initiated? We have the ship ready for disconnection.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A few moments,” Amber answered. “The transfer is nearly complete.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We await your confirmation.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>While they waited, Hyukjae moved to Donghae to give him a quick kiss before going to his literally half-awake family by the projection table. He was a little surprised that Sora hadn’t just draped herself over the projection table and gone back to sleep from how much she was leaning into it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m so tired,” she complained as soon as she noticed his presence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He hummed an agreement. “Half-<em>farn</em> timed runs are our worst ones,” he admitted. “Since there’s only five of us, it means that we’re all sleep deprived by the time it’s done. Hopefully, the next one will be a full <em>farn</em> so we can get some sleep.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Is it always like this?” Kanghun asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae shrugged. “Sometimes yes, sometimes no. New contacts, usually yeah. If we get a job from Mark or someone we’ve worked with before, not normally. But given Cheng Bao was also being watched by Li Chen’s soldiers, he probably would have done the timed runs anyway as an extra security measure. As soon they’re back and we have our next run, you can go back to sleep.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Deokbon shook her head. “This seems like such a stressful environment, but you can’t come home, either.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae shrugged, trying to set his mother’s mind at ease. “I don’t think it would be any different if I was still in the military though. It’s just this is a slightly more stressful week than what we normally have. Most of the time, it’s actually pretty boring.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Deokbon looked at him for a long moment, probably searching for any hints of a lie.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m serious, Mom. We go here, we go there, we get paid, we maybe rescue some people from slavery, we take on another job, and it can get really boring. If we’d taken off as soon as we agreed to take the job – and this is saying as if the kids didn’t exist and are completely out of the picture – you could actually see how boring it is.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Deokbon sighed. “All right,” she agreed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Initiating the disconnection,” Song Qian said, followed by the slight screech of metal rubbing against metal. “We will await your return,” she added, obviously talking to Amber and Zhou Mi. The reply was too soft for him to hear, but he could automatically fill in the standard parting phrase.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, Song Qian stood, pulling on her face mask. “Hyukjae, Doctor Zoe, please retrieve the children of Group One and bring them here to the flight deck. I will go reassure the other children that we remain with them.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae nodded, joining up with Zoe and walking off the flight deck.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We should get Five and Eight, then come back for Fifteen and Twenty-Three,” Hyukjae told her as they stepped onto the lift.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wouldn’t it be better to just get them all at once?” Zoe asked. “Amber told me that Twenty-Three is a lot calmer than what they were before they had sleep and a decent meal. It also removes any hint of favoritism to them.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae pursed his lips. If Amber had said that Twenty-Three had calmed down, then it was most likely safe enough, and Eight’s advice about physical contact seemed to be able to control the boy’s anger a bit. Zoe also had a point about favoritism – he was definitely more comfortable with Five and Eight, but Fifteen and Twenty-Three deserved the same treatment. “Yeah, we can do that. We can probably all fit into the main lift up, but if we have to make two trips it won’t be the end of the world. Do you want left and right or back and front?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Let’s go back and front,” she said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“All right, I’ll grab the back rooms if you could grab the front ones.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zoe nodded, accepting the recommendation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Moving down the hall, he spared a sneer for one of the open doors in the middle before clearing his expression. Chiming the door on the left first, he waited a second before opening it. He was surprised – and honestly a little pleased – that it was Five’s room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey,” he greeted Five warmly, seeing both of them awake, washed, and in new clothes. “Come on, we are taking you up to the flight deck,” he said, waving his hand in a ‘come here’ motion. Five-Two clung onto his sister’s hand as they walked out of the room, the food and rest helping to get rid of the pain of his last treatment. Holding out his hand for Five-One to take, he smiled reassuringly down at the two youngest of the entire Group. “My Elder Sister will greet your return joyously when she sees you again,” he told Five-One in reassurance, watching a shy smile spread across the small face, and he could see that it helped the young girl relax.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Chiming the door on the right, he opened the door to find Twenty-Three sitting on their borrowed bed. Waving his fingers, he brought them all standing. He kept a watch on Twenty-Three-Three as she moved with her older siblings to see if she would need some help moving, but sleep and food seemed to have helped her as much as it did Five-Two.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We are taking you up to the flight deck to await the return of our ship so that we may move you there,” he told them, catching the slightly curious and worried looks of all three children in Twenty-Three, but knowing that they wouldn’t ask. Coming to the main lift, he checked Eight and Fifteen over quickly. Fifteen-One’s eyebrows were pulled together a little, but she seemed to be able to move without help. Twenty-Three-Two’s eyes were darting around, like he’d had too much sugar or caffeine, but the boy seemed calm enough as well since both of his sisters were holding onto his hands. Eight-One was holding Eight-Two’s hand again, probably to keep them both calm as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once everyone was clean, the grime, dirt, and whatever else had taken residence gone, Hyukjae could start to immediately spot the differences between all the groups. Eight really looked nothing like the other, even their structure and builds were different, and Twenty-Three-Three had green-hazel eyes even under the redder light of the stolen ship, her face slightly rounder than the other two. He had a flash of a memory of a picture he’d seen one time of a girl with hazel eyes staring directly into a camera from <em>National Geographic</em> or something, and her eyes reminded him almost exactly of that picture. Five definitely looked related, and Fifteen could have passed for twins with how similar they looked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone was quiet as the lift took them up a couple of levels, and Hyukjae was a little thankful for it. Once the doors opened, he shooed everyone out ahead of him, keeping an eye on Fifteen-One. She still looked in pain, but it wasn’t bad enough that she was sobbing with it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey, there you are!” Sora exclaimed as they all walked onto the flight deck, a wide smile breaking out on her face as soon as she had spotted Five-One. Kneeling down, Sora gave Five-One a friendly hug, fussing a little over the new clothes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“My greetings, Lady Sora,” Five-One replied shyly, ducking her head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Just call me eonnie,” Sora gently corrected.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Go sit in the central chair, but do not lean back,” he told Fifteen-One, pointing at the weapons chair. “You are still in pain and none of us will make you stand.” Donghae had waved Eight over to stand by the side of his console, while Twenty-Three was mutely standing still.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You are welcome to join Eight by the piloting console,” he told Twenty-Three. Though Twenty-Three-Two was looking around, bewildered, almost like wild animal looking for an escape route, he followed his sisters to stand near Eight, both of whom looked wide-eyed and scared, watching Donghae’s every move.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae looked guilty and embarrassed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you scaring them?” Hyukjae teased, walking up behind Donghae and hugging him around the chair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The tips of Donghae’s ears were turning a bright red. “Unintentionally,” he whined, pouting. “Twin informed these two about keeping the risk of our identities from the other children low, and Eight-One is smart enough to connect that to the reason we will arrive at the House and quickly leave. I was startled at the information.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae looked at the two boys and their tightly held hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Was she not to?” Eight-Two asked softly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae shrugged. “Amber often picks up on things on a level that none of the rest of us can. While she is like everyone else and can unintentionally divulge information, she probably told you for a reason that is known only to her. We trust her judgement on what information she gives to others. It may startle us for a moment, but that is only from our reflexes being sharpened by factors outside of our control over the past two cycles.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eight-One tilted his head slightly, deep in thought, but he noticed both of them relaxing a bit.  “Are you able to speak of those factors?” Eight-One finally asked, wrapping his arms around Eight-Two’s waist and leaning.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae looked down at his eyes, recognizing the desire for knowledge held in there. He held up a finger to silently ask for a moment as he gathered his thoughts and looked down at Donghae, asking for his lover’s opinion without needing to speak.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donghae shrugged a fraction, smiling up at him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae pursed his lips, weighing the pros and cons. All of the kids were going to be with them for a month, if not more, and even if they booked it right back to Earth and dropped everyone off, there was most likely going to be a mention somewhere within earshot of the kids. With having to complete timed runs with everyone on board, it made that possibility a lot more probable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m from a world that exists outside of the Empire’s influence and borders,” he said, watching the shock flit across the kid’s faces. “It was only because of an accident that I arrived within the Empire, and there are some who were made aware of my existence after my arrival and that I’m not from any known world of the Empire. You may have heard the gossip in the markets about the Mandate moving?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eight-One nodded quickly, as did the others.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If someone were to find a new planet that’s the size and population as the world that I come from, it would <em>easily</em> put them on the throne of the Empire even if they weren’t from a major clan. If the other kids knew of our identities, that would put <em>them</em> in danger from someone who is looking for us to find my home world… or for any other reason,” he added. “I doubt that the brothel sanctuary would do much to protect them if there was a suspicion that they knew who we are.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Was it only you that arrived?” Twenty-Three-One asked as she leaned against her siblings.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae nodded. “I’ve been here for about thirteen cycles now. We arrived in my home system as a complete accident while we were running from those attempting to capture us, and it was only there that we discovered a locator probe on our ship. That is why our reflexes are still sharp and we are easily startled by information.” He sighed a little. “We had already accepted others from my home world onto our ship when we discovered the probe, including my family, and we haven’t been able to go back yet. So we’re doing a performance act where we’re having to keep our identities a secret from the other children, and at the same time, keeping knowledge of my world and that there are others with us from there from being discovered and at the same time, not getting caught from official Imperial forces because of all of our briefs.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Which is being made far more difficult by a business contract we had agreed upon before we knew of you, which has rendered all of us unable to sleep properly,” Donghae added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae sighed, irritated. “I’m just going to kill him if he pulls us into another half-<em>farn</em> timed run. I value sleep more than money and networks.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ah, if your world is not associated with the Empire, then the others from your world would not know how to properly operate the ships of the Empire, so that means there are few of you that can pilot?” Eight-One asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Damn you’re quick,” Hyukjae muttered under his breath. “Yeah,” he answered. “So we haven’t really been able to relax our reflexes as of yet and we are very easily startled. Sleep deprivation doesn’t help with that, either.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Again, my apologies for scaring you,” Donghae said, looking cute with his cheeks puffed out. “I had not known Twin told you of our difficulties, but not the full reason behind it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can we join the party too?” Sora asked, flopping down in the other piloting chair, pulling Five-Two onto her lap while Five-One leaned into her side.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Noona,” he automatically protested.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?” Sora shot back. “The chair? You’re curled up with your boyfriend and not using it,” she pointed out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sora, Hyukjae,” Deokbon snapped, instantly stopping he and Sora in their tracks and diverting their eyes from each other.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He could feel Donghae’s silent laughter under his hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Kang Deokbon is their maternal parent,” Donghae told the children quietly. “Lee Kanghun is their paternal parent standing next to her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ah,” Eight-One replied, his eyes dancing around. “Amber mentioned a time giver named Song Qian, is that her?” he followed up, gesturing at the weapons chair where Zoe stood, quietly chatting with Fifteen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, that is Doctor Zoe. She is a healer from Hyukjae’s world, but not a time giver. She wears the mark of a time giver for the other children to understand her role. Song Qian will return after reassuring the others that they are not being abandoned,” Donghae answered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey noona, hit that brown colored button for me, please,” he instructed Sora, pointing at the console. Sora turned slightly, looking at the screens, but then tapping on requested button. Hyukjae breathed out into Donghae’s hair as that side of the console locked itself from inputs. Even though Five-Two was sitting still, he didn’t want the young boy to accidentally hit anything that could turn into a major accident.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Who is the elder?” Eight-One asked after a few minutes, looking between him and Sora.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I am,” Sora replied immediately. “By two year… er, wait, is it four cycles?” she asked him uncertainly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He nodded. “Four and a half to five cycles,” he corrected, automatically translating their age gap. He glanced over to see if that had answered Eight-One’s question but was faced with five very confused looks. “Is it the time or the terms causing your confusion?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Explain both,” Donghae told him, leaning back a little and running his fingers over Hyukjae’s hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay. Earth has a longer orbit since our star is larger and hotter than a lot of other worlds. One Earth year is the equal of roughly two cycles. I’m used to doing the conversions quickly, everyone else is not. Noona is the term of address for an Elder Sister in my language for masculine people. Feminine people use eonnie for Elder Sisters. For Elder Brothers, the term hyung is used for masculine people, while oppa is what feminine people use.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Is everyone numbered according to age?” Sora asked as Song Qian stepped back onto the flight deck.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Within the small sibling groups, One is the elder, Two, the next, and so on,” Donghae explained. “If it is not known who is the eldest, or if there are twins, then that group will be arbitrarily numbered. The sibling groups that we rescued are most likely randomly assigned, perhaps in what order they arrived in, or given a group number if they replaced others.” Donghae paused, frowning. “Were any of you made responsible?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Both of Eight nodded, as did Twenty-Three-Three. Hyukjae wondered what they’d been made responsible for.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sometimes sibling groups exist where perhaps all or perhaps one of the siblings are unrelated to each other, but they are made responsible for each other by being placed in a sibling group. Eight are unrelated but were made responsible for each other’s lives by being placed in a sibling group,” Donghae explained. “Twenty-Three-Three was made responsible for both of the others, as they were made responsible for her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae looked down, surprised. He’d always assumed that sibling groups were <em>actually</em> siblings, not just sometimes called that. That would explain why Eight looked completely different to each other – they were unrelated, but responsible for each other. That also explained why Twenty-Three-Three looked so different to her siblings as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The children here were divided with their sibling group into the larger Groups for their treatments, but there are multiple ways of organizing tribute based on what function their owner plans for them to be used in.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you not have tribute, eonnie?” Five-One quietly and cautiously asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sora looked down at Five-One obviously startled, but gently patted her hair. “Where we are from, slavery of any sort is outlawed. While it still unfortunately happens, if someone is caught holding others against their will, they can be prosecuted for that crime.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Prosecuted?” Twenty-Three-Two asked, blinking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They would be brought in front of an administrator to face judgement,” Hyukjae explained, connecting Earth terms to Zhang ones for the children. “Most all on our world view slavery as morally offensive, and if you are feeling revulsion from any of us, it is at the thought of slavery, not directed at you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Such a place exists?” Eight-One asked, wide-eyed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae hummed, nodding.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Would your world not be a safer location for us?” Twenty-Three-One asked, clearly confused.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Both he and Sora sighed loudly, sharing a grimace. “Sadly, it would probably be more dangerous for you,” Hyukjae told her. “Aside from those of us you see from there, almost everyone else is unaware of the Empire or that others even exist outside of our own world, since we’ve never had any contact.” Hyukjae shook his head. “Our planet has never had a single, unified government, and the entire world is fractured into individual nation-states, all fighting for resources among each other, and you would be seen as a resource to be studied. It’s ironically safer for you to remain within the Empire and in hiding than it would be to leave you on Earth.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Giving away all of our secrets, hm, Commander?” the admiral teased as he leaned against the back of the weapons chair, wincing and rubbing his knee.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We have secrets?” he teased right back, looking falsely surprised. Shaking his head, he huffed a laugh. “The kids are going to wind up hearing about Earth at some point since they’re going to be with us for at least a month – a <em>li fan</em>,” he corrected, translating the times. “They’re still going to be with us by the time we can get you all back to Earth. Our speech patterns are weird to them already, so they’ll work it out pretty quickly that we’re generally unlike everyone else in the Empire.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, you’ve got a point.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you want to sit down?” Sora offered, looking concerned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The admiral shook his head. “My knee’s just being stiffer than normal today, and if I sit, there’s no telling if I’ll be able to get back up.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you want ibuprofen, sir?” Zoe asked as she came closer, leaving Fifteen-One in the weapons chair with her sister – or maybe sibling.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Already took some, Doc, just waiting on it to kick in,” the admiral assured her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zoe nodded shortly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae pulled himself up, a sudden thought occurring to him. “Hey Doc, when we get back…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zoe waved her hand, cutting him off. “I’ve already got a list going of what to get Song Qian for you so you don’t die and she doesn’t have to experiment.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Once I have those supplies, I will have many concerns relieved,” Song Qian said. “You all possess slightly unusual characteristics in your physical bodies from the conditions on your world and from lack of contact with the Empire that would mix in,” she explained to Sora, who was looking genuinely concerned. “Many of our medicines will work far more effectively or will not work at all on your systems, so having medicines that will work as intended for Hyukjae will be very helpful to me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The console chirped, making everyone within earshot jump with surprise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Andante</em>,” Amber said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Damn that was fast,” Hyukjae said, feeling Donghae’s heart pounding under his fingers. “Okay noona, we really need that chair now,” he told Sora.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sora gently pushed Five-Two into standing before standing herself. “All yours, monkey.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He scrunched his nose at her but looked at Song Qian inquiringly. A brief shake of her head had him sliding into the open chair, locking it, and then opening his side of the console.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We remain in place for reconnection, Twin,” Donghae said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Confirmed.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He and Donghae waited for the connection to fully lock as Song Qian directed everyone towards the lift. Once the ships were fully locked together, they shut the engines down while leaving all power still running and he pinged their ship to transfer nominal control over to their side.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He and Donghae made their way off the flight deck and down to the connection point. Though almost everyone had managed to make it onto their ship, he waved Donghae to go ahead of him before he locked the connecting door. Even though the kids other than Group One had probably been told that they had free range of their level, he doubted that anyone would start to peek outside of their rooms. It was still a precautionary measure to keep the other children contained on the other ship.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He found Donghae standing near the lift, waiting on him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Where’d everyone go?” he asked, meaning more in which area everyone was congregating in.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Officer level,” Donghae replied as they stepped onto the lift.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Holding Donghae’s hand familiarly, they walked onto the level that used to hold officer’s rooms, but that they’d modified heavily, knocking out the interior walls to create training areas, along with a large area filled with extra sleeping pads and bunched up blankets for comfortable seating when they needed to entertain someone. Almost everyone was there already, the admiral sitting on a higher chair in deference to his knee, while everyone else was scattered around the seating area. He noticed that Zoe had gone directly over to Seungchul, Alex, and Samuel, nearly sprawled out next to Seungchul. Song Qian was next to Eight-One, who was looking around quickly, but he didn’t look overly panicked as Amber walked in the room. Song Qian crooked her finger at him, making him divert his path to sit next to her, pulling Donghae with him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Please inform Hyukjae of the colors you are unused to experiencing,” she asked Eight-One.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I could not see it before on the other ship, but your Elder Sister appears to be wearing something… <em>colorful</em>,” Eight-One said, looking at Sora’s shirt, his thin face full of frustration for not having an appropriate word.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Glancing over, he hadn’t really noticed that Sora was wearing a dark blue blouse in the lighting of the other ship.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, we call that blue,” he told Eight-One.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Blue…” Eight-One muttered. “You experience that color?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae hummed, an idea occurring to him. “Hey Alex, do you have those hairpins on you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex looked up, confused. “Yeah?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Let me see them really fast?” he asked, holding out his hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alex passed the bag with the hairpins in over to him, and he pulled all three out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do any of these pins look dark like space or white to you?” he asked Eight-One, holding them against his hand for contrast.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eight-One took a moment, leaning forward, but finally shook his head. “That one looks dark, but there is a brighter color to them,” he told Hyukjae, pointing at the dark purple jewels. “I do not have a name for it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Purple,” Hyukjae told the boy, nodding, putting the pins back in the bag and sending it back to Alex. “Doctor Zoe mentioned something earlier about you maybe being able to see into the ultraviolet, the really short wavelengths that are just outside of what I can see,” he explained to Song Qian. “So, it’s not surprising you can see purple clearly.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Song Qian hummed. “You seem to have a wide range of color perceptions. Your longer wavelength perceptions sound much like mine, but you are also able to see the shorter wavelengths that the twins experience to some extent, and some colors that only Hyukjae truly experiences. We use lighting on our ship that is comfortable for all of our color perceptions.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait, is that why I felt like I was getting a headache over there?” Sora asked, holding onto Five-One’s hand, once again having Five-Two in her lap.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae nodded, noticing Zhou Mi finally coming in. Quickly introducing the kids to everyone by name, he saw many of the kids whispering the names to themselves to try and absorb them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Now that we are all gathered,” Amber said, drawing all of the attention to her. “Tributes do not have names, assigned only a number to identify them, but now that you children are free, you will be given names to have for the rest of your natural lives and to take with you as you move with the ancestors after it.” Amber gave him a fond smile. “It was one of the first things Hyukjae insisted upon knowing when we first encountered each other, and Twin and I have learned over the cycles how much having a name does assist with feeling as though you are truly a free person.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Zhou Mi tilted his head. “Do any of you children recall if you had names before?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Only the two older ones of Twenty-Three did anything other than immediately shake their heads.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We remember the ones we were given before we were sold, but I do not wish to use it any longer,” Twenty-Three-One said, her voice firm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nor do I,” Twenty-Three-Two added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What about your sister?” Kanghun asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We were made responsible for her,” Twenty-Three-Two corrected. “She is my only sister, but we have come to know affection and caring for Three.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, so she’s your <em>hanai</em> sister, okay,” Samuel said, then abruptly stopped. “Oh right – <em>hanai</em> is a term in my culture’s language to describe an informally adopted family member,” he explained. “They aren’t related to you, but you care about them like they are.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Twenty-Three-Two nodded quickly. “That does sound like our situation.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, to get onto the topic of names,” the admiral started. “How did you come up with names for the twins?” he asked Hyukjae.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae shrugged. “It’s how I saw the color of their eyes. I mean, Amber is pretty obvious, but I came up with Donghae for the waters of the East Sea because of a vacation we took when noona and I were kids down to Ulsan. The waters were so <em>blue</em> there, and that’s what Donghae’s eyes reminded me of.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Twenty-Three-One looked over at her siblings. “Three has very brightly colored eyes, do you also experience them that way?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah that was one of the first things I noticed about her,” Zoe said. “They’re a darker green on the other ship, but here, they look brighter, more like a light hazel to us.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They remind me of the stars around us,” Eight-One added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Samuel made an interested noise. “Hoku?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Yes</em>,” Twenty-Three-Three muttered, her eyes fluttering. “What is the meaning?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Star,” Samuel answered with a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You were correct, it is a… feeling of deep certainty,” she told Amber in wonder. “I have never experienced that before.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber and Donghae nodded. “Learn to recognize that feeling and give it attentiveness,” Amber told her. “It will serve you well in the future.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eight-Two was named quickly thereafter, picking out Yunho as his name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took a long few minutes before Five-Two finally spoke clearly when he heard Teo, and Five-One got Liliana nearly instantly afterwards.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Twenty-Three-Two found something in the name Ikaika, and then Fifteen-One and Two quickly picked Mei and Na for themselves. It took some thinking on Samuel’s part to find Kanani for Twenty-Three-One, as they had expressed an interest in keeping their names similar to each other among all three them, becoming siblings for themselves with their names.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eight-One grimaced, looking upset as he still couldn’t settle on a name. “I am not trying to be obstinate,” he muttered, pouting down at his knees.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We are aware of that,” Song Qian soothed him, stroking his shoulder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Before we give up for the moment,” Seungchul said. “If common names aren’t working, how about some of the more unusual ones?” he asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A crooked smile tilted Eight-One’s lips as he lifted his head. “Something unusual to fit with the unusual color my hair is growing,” he said, his voice still soft, but clearly heard.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae heard Song Qian make an inquiring noise, leaning towards Eight-One and he looked over as well, curious.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It appears to be growing white all over,” Eight-One said, looking embarrassed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The growth is still small, and as it is occurring over your entire scalp, it is most likely a result of the treatments,” Amber said. “Though neither Twin nor I experienced that, it is possible that the treatments are reacting slightly differently to you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Seungchul huffed a little. “Well, that’ll definitely make you the center of attention wherever you go,” he said with a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eight-One looked up, his eyebrows raising a little, giving him a more mischievous look. “Not something I had eagerly sought out before, but the idea of being the center of the world has appeal,” he said, his tone surprisingly dry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Seungchul’s head did that weird twisting motion Hyukjae was starting to recognize as a thinking or processing pose, and he noticed Seungchul’s fingers twitching against his legs, like he was writing something out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well… if you want to be at the center of the world, then how about Hongjoong?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae saw Eight-One instantly close his eyes, his shoulders relaxing. “Yes,” he said quickly, his voice almost dreamy. “That one.” All of the other kids had almost the same tone of voice when they picked out their names, and Hyukjae could remember the twins likewise reacting the same way when he first mentioned Amber and Donghae to them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That is fitting,” Zhou Mi commented with a nod.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae felt some stress bleed away from him as soon as every one of the kids had a name to be called by, grateful that he didn’t have to continue to refer to anyone by a number any longer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What is our next destination, Twin?” Donghae asked, his fingers idly stroking Hyukjae’s.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber pursed her lips. “Shingla Station in the Taigu system. We have one <em>farn</em> to complete the run, meeting with Cheng Bao at Panda,” she said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone from Earth laughed at <em>Panda</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“My House has a brothel on Bai, which is near Taigu,” Song Qian said. “We should place the other children there before we arrive at the station, and while we are there, Zhou Mi may send his messages.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amber nodded. “Agreed.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sounds good,” Hyukjae replied as well. “Though before we leave, I’ll get Mark on a contact to see if he can meet us there or somewhere else and bring Chan with him to get those medical logs cracked open for you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Is that secure?” the admiral asked, leaning forward on his cane.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Secure enough,” Hyukjae replied with a nod. “Contacts use different means than messages do, and since nothing repeats, it’s a lot harder to code break into a contact. We’ve also worked with Mark before.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The admiral nodded as his security concern was addressed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are the medical logs important?” Mei asked curiously. Having the kids named was already showing a benefit with less hesitation in asking questions.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Both Song Qian and Zoe nodded. “We believe that the treatments are set in an order, and we will not risk your health by applying one out of sequence,” Song Qian said. “When Doctor Zoe and I are satisfied with the knowledge in the medical logs, we can begin the treatments then. While we are awaiting that, I will take you down to the crew area and begin the education you would receive in the brothel.” Song Qian shook her head, scowling. “There is no reason you nine should not also have the benefit of a brothel education simply because you must complete your treatments.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How long is it to Taigu?” Hyukjae asked Amber, guessing that either she or Zhou Mi had looked up a route.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“From Ba-sing, Taigu is approximately one standard away, but it will be a bit longer as we need to stop at Bai,” Zhou Mi replied. “Perhaps two standards before we arrive.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae nodded, giving Donghae a quick kiss on the cheek and standing. “I’ll head down to the communication room and contact Mark and see where or if he can meet us.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We will pause at the station so as to ensure that we are properly rested,” Donghae added. “Even if Mark is not able to arrive immediately, we will be there for at least three standards.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m going to go now, I’ll let you know when I’m done,” he said, waving as he walked out of the large room. Going down to the communication room, he saw that Mark had replied to his last message, but he waved it away to initiate a visual contact. Flipping the small projection out, he swung in his chair as he waited for Mark to make a connection.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Where and how long?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae started a little, looking over at the projection. Sure enough, Mark’s image was already there, Mark’s shorter hair parted on the side and hanging a bit into his face to give him a more rakish look.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, hello to you too,” he teased. “Shingla station, we should be there in about one to two standards, we have a <em>farn </em>to complete this run, so we’re going to sleep there and we’re running <em>Andante</em>. Bring Channie with you, we have some coded logs we need opened as quickly as possible,” he told Mark.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mark nodded in a quick confirmation, the contact cutting out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shaking his head in amusement, he pinged the flight deck, telling them that he was done, and they could start moving if anyone was already there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Getting up he stretched his arms upwards, groaning a little with tiredness. But at least they’d be able to stop and actually sleep soon, and he felt satisfied with knowing the large majority of the kids would be going to the safety of the brothel. While the kids of Group One would have to complete the treatments, he was looking forward to helping them adjust to life as free people. Wandering up to the flight deck, he saw that no one else had arrived for the moment. Shrugging, he dropped himself into the piloting chair and started pulling up their destinations.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He looked over his shoulder as Zhou Mi walked onto the flight deck, looking as tired as what Hyukjae felt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I will be very glad when we can pause at the station to get some sleep,” Zhou Mi complained.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae hummed an agreement. “I think everyone will. Okay, Bai first, a couple of us can take the other ship down to leave it and can just get picked up in an attacker when we’re done.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, I will assist piloting down, most likely with Song Qian down to Bai. I will need to send the courier messages quickly to give Fei and Jia time to respond and Song Qian will be able to meet with her House as well.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hyukjae nodded. Working easily with Zhou Mi, they broke out of the orbit of Ba-sing’s star and to the jump point. Once they had their trajectory and path stable, Hyukjae initiated the jump, sending them to Bai.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. PIRI</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae scowled at the communications readout that listed the rules and regulations of the station. There, in giant white letters across the top, just made his life one hundred percent harder.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He huffed out a sigh. They would have to work out some way to communicate with Mark without going through the station since he and the other crew members were now effectively stuck on the ship. The console pinged, indicating that it was done downloading and searching through the deluge for anything they considered relevant, and Hyukjae had updated the search to scan for anything Zhou Li would post as a brief, or of any new escaped tribute children briefs.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">As per normal, Donghae and Amber’s briefs were still there, even twenty-eight cycles old, as was Zhou Mi’s, demanding his return to his patriarch. Nothing new had been posted in a while from Zhou Li and there was no mention of the children listed as escaped tribute, not that he had expected there to be since it had only been barely half a <em>farn</em> since they took over the ship, and the House probably would not begin registering the children under sanctuary for another three of Bai’s solar days.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He locked the console and headed towards the crew area. Donghae was waiting on him just at the door.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What is the matter?” Donghae asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae wrinkled his nose as he walked into the crew area. “Of all the damn times a station wants to use a scanner, they would of course choose <em>now</em>,” he complained.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What has occurred?” Song Qian asked, looking up from Teo and his small reader.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“The station’s upgraded their security system and is using a gene scanner to check for briefs so we can’t leave the ship,” he relayed as he found an empty seat and sat down. “They must have had some trouble with pirates lately.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Well, Samuel and I can arrange the transfer since we’ve had some practice at it,” Alex said with a shrug.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It’s more meeting up with Mark that’s making me stress out. He knows us on sight, and I don’t want to risk sending a contact through the station – which everything now has to go through the station to hit the network,” he explained to Samuel, who was tilting his head curiously. “I don’t want to risk any contact being recorded by the station.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Would Mark have any issues getting onto the station like you?” Alex asked, tugging on a lock of her hair.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae laughed shortly. “Oh hell no,” he replied as he felt Donghae wrap his arms around his shoulder. “Mark literally has some of the best code breakers and slicers in the entire Empire in his crew. Their records are absolutely spotless if they exist at all, so they can get onto the station no problem. He knows what our ship ID is, but he’ll have to be escorted into the docking berth.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Would you agree to my assistance?” Hongjoong asked, making Hyukjae’s head turn. Even though Hongjoong looked uncomfortable with all of the attention on him, he didn’t drop his gaze or curl into himself. “I was often used as a messenger, so I am accustomed to locating people in busy locations,” he added.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“If you are willing to perform that function, it would assist us,” Donghae replied. “You will be well with the crowding?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hongjoong’s eyebrows lifted up. “How many rings is this station?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Only one.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hongjoong snorted softly. “If I was able to navigate Qinyan’s markets with only minimal difficulties, I will not encounter issues with a one ring station.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Wouldn’t Zhou Li have your DNA – er, genes on record?” Alex asked, glancing around.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He would, but it is doubtful enough time has elapsed for him to be informed we are no longer his. With our treatments going into modifications, he would have posted briefs to have us returned to him promptly and it would only be then that our genes would risk being recorded and forwarded to him. I assume that since Hyukjae has not had overt objections, there are no briefs?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae stared at Hongjoong in shock for a second, absolutely <em>floored</em> at the rapid uptake, but finally nodded. “You are absolutely terrifying from pulling together things this fast,” he said, softening the words with a grin. “I can’t even begin imagine what you’re going to be like in a <em>li fan</em>.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That is because he thinks too much and does not sleep,” Yunho replied slyly, not looking up from his reader.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae barked a laugh. “Well, you’re right. There are no new briefs from Zhou Li, just the old ones for the twins and Zhou Mi. You’re good for right now.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hongjoong nodded once. “All I will require is description of your contact. If items that were not available on Qinyan are still needed, I am willing to inquire about those at the same time.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex shrugged. “Well, if he wants to help, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“A what?” Hoku asked, her eyes wide.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Oh, it’s a saying about not inspecting gifts and offers too closely for flaws,” Alex explained. “My only concern is that technically, you’re still a minor.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hongjoong shrugged. “I am nearly of a legal age and I am offering my assistance freely.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“If there is some available, I would like to negotiate to purchase or barter for more rations of pain medicines,” Song Qian said. “I do not know if a one-ring station would have some available for trade, but I would like additional rations to ensure your comfort after the treatments.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will inquire about that for you. Is it known when your contact will arrive?” Hongjoong asked him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He just goes by Mark with no other title, and you can use his name freely. I’m assuming that he’s coming in from Gahse, so he should be arriving soon, if he’s not already here. He’s as tall as I am, if not a little taller, and he’s got a very thin body type. He has dark hair that is kept short and parted to one side. I hope he’s bringing Chan with him because he has a muscular body and a slightly larger nose which makes him much easier to identify.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hongjoong nodded. “Will I need identification from you?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes, that would be a wise thing to have in case of doubts,” Amber replied as she walked in. “Though we do not have many items that would be identifiable as ours exclusively.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I know of something,” Zhou Mi said from the doorway, and disappearing back out.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Anything we need to be aware of while on the station?” Samuel asked as Hongjoong gathered his hair into a simple knot.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You will need to be slightly cautious of others,” Donghae told him. “Many pirate crews will have informants on stations such as these to seek out new targets and opportunities, and since this station is using a brief scanner, that is a more likely possibility. No weapons will be allowed within the ring itself, so you are unlikely to be attacked directly, and you will not want to display your markings as it will cause the station’s protective services to scrutinize you.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“The vendor will be in Section Five, Store Twelve,” Amber added while Samuel nodded. “You have the hairpins?” she asked Alex.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex nodded. “Are we going to need the face masks?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Not for any station, as they will have purifiers in the life support systems to remove anything harmful in the air, and there will be light purifiers to walk through as you enter into the ring,” Song Qian replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I have a question about the gene scanner thing – why weren’t they using something like that on Qinyan?” Alex asked as she gathered her hair up.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It’s a very intensive process on the beacons, and only done on one or two ring stations if they’ve recently had trouble. Anything larger than a two ring, the network and beacon would be overloaded and not work,” Hyukjae explained shortly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“The beacons are used as navigational locations, so to have one become non-functional poses the risk of ships becoming lost and unable to find their way to that beacon, or they could arrive too close to the star or a planet, or even inside those objects,” Amber added.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex grimaced, shuddering as she shoved a hair pin in. “Got it.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Here,” Zhou Mi said as he came back into the crew area.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Glancing over at what Zhou Mi was holding out, Hyukjae raised his eyebrows in surprise. Hongjoong looked even more surprised.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Mark knows of me, and he will easily recognize the clan signature. It will provide a solid means of identification to assure him that you are with us as there are very few people who would be in possession of this,” Zhou Mi explained, his voice slightly amused.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hongjoong nodded, his movements gentle as he lifted the stylized hairpin from Zhou Mi’s hand. “I will ensure its safety,” he promised, placing the hairpin in a pocket.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi smiled. “My thanks.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We will go and return quickly,” Hongjoong said, nodding slightly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We will greet your return with joy,” Hyukjae answered as part of the chorus for the standard parting expression.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You children have free time now, as we will need this area for our meeting,” Song Qian said. “Doctor Zoe and myself will accompany you to the rooms where you may sleep and treat as your own. When Hongjoong returns to us, you will be able to show him to the room you can share, Yunho.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“The only places that are restricted for the moment are the cargo holds, the flight deck and communications area unless one of us accompanies you, and of course the engine area for your general safety,” Zhou Mi told the kids, who slowly nodded. “I am unaware if you all were allowed explore the other ship, but this one is laid out much the same way, aside from the communications area on the crew level.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Everyone has remained on the officer level, and you are free to join them again during our meeting,” Amber added. “I am certain many of them would like the opportunity to assist your adjustment to being freed peoples, and do not be surprised if they would offer teaching you several means for self-defense,” she said with a droll look at Zoe.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zoe snorted softly, crookedly grinning. “Yeah, how many dirty tricks do you want them to know?” she joked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Teach them everything you know and then work on inventing new things,” Hyukjae told her in all seriousness. “You kids are going to be safe no matter what because we’re going to give you the ability to protect yourself if someone else doesn’t do it first for you.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian and Zoe got the kids, still grinning from Hyukjae’s comment, out the door to leave only Zhou Mi, Donghae, and Amber with Hyukjae.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae huffed. “They are all adept at thieving. Twin and I have looked over the data of what they have stolen just from Qinyan and it is very impressive at what they were able to accomplish without any alarm raised.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Anything identifiable that we will have issues selling?” Zhou Mi asked, curious.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“No, and that is the remarkable thing. There was nothing instantly identifiable,” Amber replied. “We will have no issues in selling the items quickly with no scrutiny.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Wow,” Hyukjae remarked. “That is impressive. Do you have the list?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber nodded, pulling out her reader and projecting it to let them glance over things, making notes as to who or where they knew they could sell some of the items.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I would have appreciated a little warning,” Alex griped as she walked into the crew area, interrupting their soft conversation about what order to attempt to sell the stolen items.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae pulled his eyebrows together. “What happened?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That vendor. I don’t know what it was, but he had some kind of hand scanner thing and Hongjoong <em>flipped out</em> about it.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae’s mouth dropped open. “Already?!” he exclaimed, looking at the equally shocked faces of everyone else. He shook his head. “You don’t normally run into anyone like that until you’re doing the actual weapons run, which is why we didn’t say anything,” he explained to Alex, still trying to recover from the shock. “He didn’t touch you with it did he?!” he asked in a rush, the implications crashing in on him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex shook her head. “Hongjoong told us not to touch it at all and said that we’d use the station transfer to accept the cargo, whatever that is. He said that scanner could be used for extortion and stuff like that?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It can record your genes,” Donghae said slowly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yeah, that’s what Hongjoong said. He explained the difference between that and the brief scanner, saying that a record like that would point out that there’s a slight difference in my DNA.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae breathed out, his shoulders dropping. That had been a <em>very</em> close call. “Thank fuck he’s so quick on the uptake,” he muttered as he leaned back in his chair.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“How did he even know that?” Alex asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I had explained in passing that your genes are unlike ours from your world’s conditions and lack of contact with the Empire that would mix in,” Song Qian said. “Doctor Zoe is compiling a list of medications to obtain for me for Hyukjae which is why it was mentioned.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I was telling them about Earth because we might as well level with them about us. They’re still going to be with us by the time we can get you back and since our speech patterns and ways of talking are super weird to them already, they’d all work out pretty quickly that we’re not like everyone else,” Hyukjae explained.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He is well?” Song Qian asked, biting her lower lip.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex nodded. “Had a panic attack after that because he said he wasn’t expecting it, but he said that he’s as good as he could be and was going to keep looking for Mark.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber stood up with a sigh. “I am thankful he was with you. Let us go to the cargo hold and I will show you the process of using the station transfer mechanism to accept the cargo.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex nodded. “Oh, by the way, if you need a surname for Hongjoong, I gave the station one as Kim.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded in return. “Okay I’ll put that in. What did you tell the station his job function was?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Communications expert,” Alex replied with a shrug. “I don’t know if that’s the right title, but it’s what I could come up with on the spot.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It’s good enough. I’m really glad you all got through that unscathed. Sorry about not saying something, but we really weren’t expecting to run into someone like that so early,” Hyukjae apologized.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Alex nodded. “It’s all thanks to Hongjoong,” she replied as she left with Amber.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi sighed. “Thanks be to the ancestors,” he muttered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae hummed. “I’m going to go update the crew list with that information before I manage to forget it,” he said as he rose out of his chair and gave Donghae a brief kiss.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Heading back into the communications area, he pulled up the crew list first, a trade notice from the station glowing on another screen. Flipping down to the crew labeled under Communications, he found an entry that was close enough from the fake crew list Alex had already supplied. Swapping the name out was easy enough once he’d managed to find the writing utensil on the floor. He or Donghae had probably knocked it down while having sex.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He pulled the trade notice up, but he’d have to get Amber to negotiate since she had an updated list of barter items and knew what their credit situation was. He pinged the cargo hold through the internal communications.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes?” Amber answered quickly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“The station has some pain medicines available for trade,” he told her. “If they aren’t back by the time you’re done there, can you start the negotiations?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will,” Amber replied. “We are almost done.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">He glanced up as the console brightened. “Oh, never mind. They just got back into the berth. I’ll go meet them.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed. Please send Samuel down to the hold so that he may assist Alex accept the cargo.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Confirmed,” he replied, standing up. He arrived at the berth port just as the airlocks began to open, and he zeroed in on Hongjoong, looking a little ragged in the slump of his shoulders, but otherwise unscathed. Reaching out, he pulled Hongjoong close, setting his forehead against the boy’s and allowing them to breathe in each other’s presence. “You did well,” he praised. “Thank you for protecting them.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hongjoong flushed as a small smile tilted his lips. “I will return to the others in the crew area.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Everyone went up to the officer level for free time while we have our meeting. Amber asked if you could head down to the cargo hold to help accept in the transfer,” he told Samuel, who nodded quickly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will need to return this hairpin to Zhou Mi and obtain my reader before I join the others,” Hongjoong told him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Sure,” Hyukjae agreed as Samuel turned to head off towards the secondary lift. “Come on up,” he offered to Mark, Chan, and a young woman he didn’t recognize. “So, who did you bring with you besides Chan?” he asked as he led the way towards the main lift.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“My ward daughter, Dong,” Mark introduced smoothly. “She came to us four cycles ago and has learned well from Chan.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Dong dropped her head in a brief bow, her lips tilted upwards as Hyukjae turned his head to look at her. Raising his eyebrows in a bit of surprise since he never would have had guessed that Mark would take in a ward, he tilted his head as the lift rose towards the crew area. “You both should be able to have some fun with the coded logs we need opened.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hongjoong was first out of the lift, walking briskly down the short hallway to the crew area, followed by Chan and Dong.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I am relieved you all are in good health,” Mark told him as they followed at a more sedate pace behind everyone. “We were becoming concerned that we could not reach you in any contact.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “We disconnected from the network over a cycle ago. It seemed to be the only option at the time, since we were not aware of how we were being found so quickly. We only found the locator probe about four <em>farn</em> ago.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark hummed as Hongjoong passed back by, his small hands curled protectively over his reader.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian was already holding out a large reader towards Chan when he and Mark entered into the crew area. “We need the logs labeled as high priority opened. We do not care for what cost you assign to it, but those logs <em>must</em> be decoded fully and in good time.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Chan and Dong both looked surprised, but Chan gently took the reader from Song Qian, moving off to the side of the room as Dong pulled out a small reader from her pocket.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark seated himself, and obviously caught the attention centered on Dong. “She is my ward daughter, Dong,” he introduced. “She is also quickly becoming a formidable code slicer after learning from Chan,” he added with a twist of his lips.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Reclaiming his seat next to Donghae, he smiled a bit as Donghae held his hand and threaded their fingers together.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“As I know you have little patience for drawn out and pointless chatter, I will arrive straight to the issue. As Jai has said that you had disconnected from the network, I assume that you have not yet had the time to acquire news from Yangshi?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi sighed. “What has he done now?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">No one needed to ask who Zhou Mi was referring to.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Zhou Li crushed a minor disturbance on Yangshi almost two and a half cycles ago, but the fool that calls himself the Emperor was made to believe it was nearly the size that could call a Champion Battle without bothering to check the validity of such. But as a result of that flattery and other contributions, Zhou Li has been given a place within the Private Council,” Mark told them, looking displeased. “It is obvious to nearly everyone that whatever plans Zhou Li has put into motion that they will soon come to fruition.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Do you have any information if he was the one behind the probe?” Donghae asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark nodded slightly. “He is. The last time we met, you had mentioned his occasional attempts to capture you for his own purposes. As I deal in information, I had Chan slice into Zhou Li’s personal correspondences so that I could be more aware of his plots and his rather feeble attempts at contracting my services using others to do his bidding.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He has attempted to contract you?” Zhou Mi asked, obviously as startled as what Hyukjae felt.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark nodded. “Many times since I began trading in information. I had participated in one job for him while working for someone else in my youth that occurred just after your exile. I found him personally repulsive, manipulative, and power-hungry. I had refused any and all contracts with him, even before we became acquainted. While I am certain he has obtained some information from us from using multiple contacts in a line, by the time he receives that information, it is old and worthless.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae glanced over at Donghae, who nodded slightly. Mark was telling the truth on that matter.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He is all of those qualities and more,” Zhou Mi agreed. “Were you able to discover anything?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark shrugged a shoulder. “Chan?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Chan looked up from the reader. “Hm?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Inform them of what you discovered in Zhou Li’s correspondences,” Mark told him.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“He is the one that ordered a locator probe attached to your ship that has been there for well over four cycles, but it was only after he was given a spot on the Private Council and provided access to the Imperial Compound that he began demanding more progress to be made in your capture,” Chan reported, his hands gesturing to punctuate his words. “Also, there were some odd correspondences to some overseers of his tributes, demanding progress on them as well, but for unknown purposes.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi sighed, leaning back in his seat and looking very weary from the information. “He is planning to take the throne for himself. No one will believe he holds the Mandate if he does not have his entire clan under firm control, and any dissenters such as myself and Jia are kept ineffectual, if not just killed.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You can just <em>take</em> the Mandate like that?” Hyukjae asked, incredulous.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That is all a rebellion does. Outside of a Champion Battle, there is no formal handover of the Mandate,” Mark told him as he shrugged.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Even a Champion Battle requires a majority of support of rebellious forces,” Amber added. “There have been many dynasties that have simply overthrown the previous and established themselves in charge with no rebellion. How many overseers was he attempting to contact, Chan?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Chan’s lips pushed out a bit in thought. “Was it five or six?” he asked, looking at Dong for confirmation.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Five,” she answered, a few locks of hair escaping from the messy bun on the top of her head as she nodded. “It was a very select group, which is what made it memorable to me as he was demanding faster progress after he was given a spot on the Private Council.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">They looked at each other, tilts of heads, pursed lips, and slight shrugs were all they needed to reach a consensus.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Do you have those correspondences?” Donghae asked Mark.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes, we brought them with us.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What do you want for them?” Amber asked bluntly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark leaned back slightly, tilting his head. “A contact to Meng Jia, assuring her you know of me,” Mark told Zhou Mi. “I believe we can engage in a beneficial information exchange, but she is and will be understandably suspicious of any new contacts without previous verification that they do not work for your patriarch.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded once. “I can arrange that as I am awaiting a reply to a missive that was sent only a few standards ago. When I am able to contact her and speak freely, I will refer you.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark nodded. “That is acceptable. Dong, could you transfer the missives from Zhou Li to the ship?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes. As you mentioned speed, I am assuming you wish to see the medical data quickly?” Dong asked Song Qian.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You have already opened them?” Song Qian asked, raising her eyebrows.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Dong nodded, even more small locks of hair falling down. “It is a rather simple encryption. Whoever made them was obviously not that concerned with security.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes, I do need to look over those data entries now,” Song Qian finally replied.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We will have to send it to your projector at this moment, we are still at work on the other logs on the readers,” Chan said.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We will divert our attention so that you may look over the logs freely and with a modicum of privacy,” Mark offered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Song Qian nodded. “It is appreciated. You may transfer the data to this projector,” she said as she rose out of her seat, grabbing one of the square projectors.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark folded his hands on the table. “Have you planned for the eventuality of your patriarch obtaining the throne?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi sighed. “I had not considered it. I had known it was a desire of his, but I was not aware he had made plans to do so. It is now apparent that he is close to his goals.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Are we sure he is planning on taking the throne?” Hyukjae finally asked, drumming the fingers on his free hand on the table.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded. “There is no doubt with this current information.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“That is very much going to be a problem,” Hyukjae muttered.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi hummed an agreement. “If he has been demanding progress on my capture, now that the locator probe is disabled, he will likely accelerate his plans to obtain the throne so that he may use every resource of the Empire to capture us.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“You will just let him?” Mark asked, looking concerned, shocked, and a little disgusted.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I am uncertain as to what you or anyone else would want me to do at this moment,” Zhou Mi replied with a shrug.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark’s head tilted a bit, his brows furrowing. “I would have thought you would insist upon being one of the first to rebel against him publicly.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi ran a hand through his hair, pulling it back for a moment before shaking his head. “I do not have the desire or temperament to be Emperor. I am far too much like him, as much as I detest it. I will support others, but I will not lead my own when that time comes so that I am not put into a position that others would look for me to be on the throne.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber played with the chain of her necklace. “That brings us to a problem we have yet to discuss of who we should support. Few believe as we do about servitude, and it would be difficult to forgive our briefs and allow us to live freely if we continue releasing others from servitude,” she said as Zhou Mi tilted his head, looking thoughtful.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I am finding myself much in the same situation,” Mark commented. He scratched his blunt nails across the table top before looking back up, a firm set to his lips. “I offer you this information freely and truthfully – you all recall the last job you contracted my assistance for?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Everyone nodded, even Song Qian who was standing off to the side. It had been an absolute mess trying to get several groups of tributes to either tribute colonies or the Houses, and they finally had to give in and contract Mark for help in transporting a small group to the House of Do.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I am almost ashamed of it, but I had not developed any strong feelings about servitude either way until that time. The <em>relief</em> upon their faces as they stepped into the House and were given sanctuary… it is something that has remained with me every time I wake for almost five cycles.” Mark glanced back at Dong, who was bent over her work. “I have kept myself busy since we last met, and while I do not get as <em>involved</em> as you normally do, I work in my own ways to release others from servitude.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“And taking in a ward, too,” Hyukjae replied, his lips tilting upwards as he caught Amber’s slight nod.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“It is somewhat debatable who is a ward of whom,” Mark muttered, his voice fond. “I feel fortunate that she has proved to be such an adept learner, as it is often her work that goes into erasing records here and there. We are unable to do large groups at once, but we attempt to keep a steady flow.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae started badly, as did everyone else, when there was a knock on the metal outside of the doorway. Sora cautiously glanced around into the room.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“They’re – They are encountering some difficulties down in the cargo hold and need assistance,” Sora said as her hair fell over her shoulder.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae sighed. “I will go assist them and return quickly.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae didn’t miss Mark’s sharp eyes flickering between himself and Sora.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“She is more than a guest, isn’t she?” Mark asked him calmly.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber’s fingers tapped loudly on the table, and Hyukjae looked over. Catching Amber’s finger crossed behind her thumb, he lowered his eyelids in agreement.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“She is,” Amber agreed once Zhou Mi and Song Qian had added their agreements to letting Amber take over. “We will require three additional pieces of business from you, all of which are difficult. We, of course, will offer an exchange of equal information.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I will do my utmost to fulfill those pieces of business,” Mark agreed with a nod after a moment, folding his hands together on the table.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Lee Sora is Hyukjae’s Elder Sister, which is why their eyes look similar enough for you to have noticed the resemblance,” Amber explained.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark’s eyes widened. “You have found your home world?” he asked Hyukjae, who nodded.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We have many guests with us from two different circumstances,” Amber continued. “Those from Hyukjae’s home world have offered their assistance in engaging with Imperial officials, as they are unknown. It has benefitted us greatly in allowing us to move more freely than we are normally able to do. Two of them have been introduced by name to Imperial officials, but there will be issues if they continue to remain unknown to the network.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark nodded. “They both will need to be added to the networks. However, I am certain that knowledge of Jai’s home world and his kin is worth more than inserting two into the networks.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“They also need to be associated with the <em>Andante</em> ship name with full ownership under the nominal captain. Additional crew names would also be beneficial for those from Hyukjae’s world to move about while within the Empire.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Ah,” Mark breathed. “That is indeed two large pieces of business to conduct. We will have to return to Gahse for that, as it would not be possible with the few tools Chan and Dong brought with them. But it will be done by the completion of your timed run.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber nodded. “It is appreciated. We will provide you with the full amount of information before we sleep.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark tilted his head curiously. “You mentioned three?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Amber sighed. “This one is possibly the most difficult, but we need a constant and consistent watch on the passage of information regarding Zhou Li’s actions and if there are whispers of finding Hyukjae’s home world that they call Earth or of any new planets that are brought into the Empire. Zhou Li will also post briefs for nine escaped tribute children. Anything you are able to accomplish in blocking or erasing those briefs and their genes would be deeply appreciated as they will be far more recent than ours and not propagated into the Imperial Forces network.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Nine children?” Mark repeated, his eyebrows raising.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Yes. Zhou Li will want them returned to him promptly. They are in the midst of being given the same genetic modifications that Twin and I were subjected to in our youth,” Amber explained, her eyes beginning to glow. “It is a personal and secretive project that Zhou Li initiated to create perfectly obedient assassins and bodyguards with the modifications. The modifications have caused us to become slightly telepathic to where we are able to sense strong thoughts and feelings, but our senses on a physical level are also increased.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">She nodded her head once after a short pause. “Yes, the treatments are extremely painful, at times causing some to die from the pain alone, which is why we tasked Hongjoong to inquire about additional rations of pain medicines, so the children will have some means of comfort after the treatments,” she continued. “While we all wish that they did not have to continue, these nine now have no choice. It would be far kinder to release their spirits than leave them as they are now with no control over what they experience and unable to differentiate their own senses and what comes from others.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark’s eyes closed and his jaw clenched for a moment before he reopened his eyes. A bit to Hyukjae’s surprise, they were slightly glassy, as if Mark was fighting back tears. “We had known that you both were different, but not the reason why. To learn of that reason and to discover that it is continuing on <em>children</em>… It is abhorrent and would have been even to my previous ways of thinking,” he told Amber, who nodded again. “It will be done to the best of our abilities.” He sighed, leaning back in the chair. “We will need to record the genes of the children to ensure the correct briefs are blocked, unless you have already done so, and of the two that must be inserted into the networks so that they may be associated with ownership.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“If there were records for the children, I have not yet found them in the medical data,” Song Qian replied as she retook her seat. “We scanned them briefly but did not record anything other than their vital statistics. We will need to fully explain the procedure and reasoning behind recording the genes, as there is a vendor upon this station that attempted to do so for their own purposes and there will be suspicion as to why it is needed.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Which vendor?” Chan asked as he and Dong moved closer. Chan held out the large reader to Hyukjae. “The logs are opened, and we took the additional step of propagating the ship identities into your system so that you may use them quickly.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae nodded. “We thank you for your work.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Section Five, Store Twelve,” Amber replied to Chan. She sighed heavily. “We were not expecting to encounter such a person this early as this is only the second cargo accepted.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark hummed. “It is unusual,” he agreed as Dong wrapped her arms around his shoulders.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“If it is apparent to many that Zhou Li will take the throne, then it is perhaps making people such as that bolder?” Dong asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Zhou Mi nodded. “They could be looking to increase their profits and standing in that way if they are aware of Zhou Li’s ambitions,” he agreed, glancing at the door as Donghae walked back in, looking irritated. “All is well?”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae rolled his eyes and huffed as he slid back into his seat next to Hyukjae. “The cargo is now loaded, and the vendor managed to escape with his life and was not able to record any genes, even though there was not a lack of attempts.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae sighed. “Which means we are going to have to do a full scan of the ship and of the cargo to make sure they didn’t leave something to trace.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“I have already found three,” Donghae grumbled. “If the station protective forces were not there, I would have killed him right then.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We will happily take all that you are able to find,” Chan said with a grin. “Tracers are very useful tools to me.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Donghae nodded in acknowledgement.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“What would be the best way to approach the recording of genes and gathering of information?” Mark asked.</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Hyukjae and I will accompany you up to the officer level while Zhou Mi and Donghae locate all of the tracers left on the cargo,” Song Qian replied. “Amber, please return the trade negotiation with the station for those pain medicines.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Mark nodded. “Chan will assist you in gathering the tracers while Dong and I record the information that is required.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“We should get that done now, because as nice as it is to have company that doesn’t want to kill us, I am <em>tired</em>, and I need some proper sleep in my system,” Hyukjae yawned. “We are on the end of a half-<em>farn</em> run,” he explained to Mark</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">“Half-<em>farn</em> runs are difficult at best,” Mark agreed. “Let us retrieve what we need so that you may sleep and we can return to Gahse to work on your business.”</p>
<p class="FicStyle"> </p>
<p class="FicStyle">Hyukjae stretched lightly to give himself a little boost of energy to get through the hopefully short and painless process of attempting to explain why Hongjoong had done the right thing with the vendor, but why Mark was needing the exact same thing and it was okay.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yes Dong is our lovely Dongdongdongie from Dreamcatcher~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>